Category Archives: health

40–“A Way to Release Sorrow” from “Frazzle”

African Violet (Pink) by M D Mikus, Copyright 2007

“…I am at vat-bottom
holding my arms up in a “V”

and the sorrow is leaving me,
leaving a delicious temporary
spaciousness
which I fill with joy….”

From poem 40, “A Way to Release Sorrow,” in my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/SH1cY_oexvI

Notes: A blue moon is a second full moon in a month (or extra full moon in a season). I wrote this poem on New Year’s Eve, the day of the blue moon, which was the end of a decade, a rare event indeed. I had been doing intense healing work with Tricia Eldridge, the founder of the Energy Touch ® School of Advanced Healing. A follow-up phone conversation led to this visual and the poem came directly from that.

It can be daunting to attempt healing of deep trauma or sorrow, long-time painful beliefs, scars of the body-mind-spirit, or even still raw wounds. How to transform it all without being washed away in the process? I can tell you it requires patience and also trust. It does not require belief in anything, but rather a discerning openness, the willingness to take a small step and see what happens. It does require energy and it can be a slow process or instantaneous. Healing also ultimately gives back energy, uplifting and transcending. Blessings on your healing journey.

For more poem videos from the “Frazzle” series

THROWN AGAIN into the FRAZZLE MACHINE: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing

39–“How to Not Feel a Failure” from “Frazzle”

On Rt. 60, Heading into the Sunset, by M D Mikus, Copyright 2016

“…How to remember grace and be grateful?
How to be patient and trust…
enough?”

From Poem 39, “How to Not Feel a Failure,” in my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen to poem here: https://youtu.be/BC2X7WMQmT8

You’ve probably had days (or longer) when you were most aware of not succeeding at what you most desired, had focused all your energy on. For me, on this particular day writing this poem, it was all the healing that had not happened, all the “failures.” I was not thinking about all the problems I no longer had, the MS being gone, cancer not a factor, being able to walk easily…and on and on. All problems that at one time were my primary longing. No, I was most aware of all the healing working its way into my attention, what was yet to resolve. And now, from this vantage point, 7 years later, most big problems of that time are gone. It is good to remember…

For more poem videos from “Frazzle”

THROWN AGAIN into the FRAZZLE MACHINE: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing

38–“An Accounting” from “Frazzle”

“…To remember to be
where I am at this moment…”

From poem 38, “ An Accounting,” from my book, “Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing.” Listen here: https://youtu.be/rcdyY3_8x50

It’s easy to take life for granted, the wondrous body working away, heart beating, air to breathe, etc.…until it is taken away, even temporarily. A daily practice of gratitude can change everything. In this exact moment what are you grateful for? What just popped into your head without thinking about it?

For more poem videos from “Frazzle”

37–“Where We Are in the Story” from “Frazzle”

Heavy Snow–Before Tree Breaks by M D Mikus, Copyright 2015

“…The top of the uterus is thick
as if just beginning to hold promise,

the bottom thinned to almost nothing
appropriate for her years.

What to say about this
top/bottom dichotomy…”

From “Where We Are in the Story?” in my book, “Thrown Again in the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing.” Listen to the entire poem here: https://youtu.be/VnKSdeVNB1U

We are shaped by what happens to us, and what we do with that. Out of hardship may come an awareness of strength and endurance. We may learn to appreciate and be grateful when life goes more smoothly. We may develop compassion for others going through the same challenges and for ourselves when darkness comes again. As my sister said to me tonight, we are only aware of light in the darkness.

My mother was a nurse and when we were growing up she used medical terms to call parts of the body by their proper names. I have a Ph.D. in Microbiology and am familiar with using scientific language. These things, (and many others), are woven into the way I write. You can see the science influence more in some poems, like this one, than in others. The language is matter–of-fact and lacks any squeamishness, one facet of telling the story.

For more poem videos from “Frazzle”

THROWN AGAIN into the FRAZZLE MACHINE: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing

26–“Burning the Candle at Both Ends” from “Frazzle”

I suspect I’m not the only one with this recurring challenge: not just too little rest, but too much action, insufficient recharging stillness and reviving solitude. I forget that I love to sing…just for myself. I forget to breathe deeply, to laugh even.

“I am running out of candle
to burn at both ends

toward the ever-diminishing middle….”

Poem 26, “Burning the Candle at Both Ends” from my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/0afvI8xIVOY

What is your biggest self-care challenge?

For more poem videos from “Frazzle”