Forgot to post this video from May 27 on the blog. Using it to learn how to embed.
This poem is in my upcoming book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Stay tuned for more…
Category Archives: inspiration
From Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou passed away at age 86 after a full, colorful, vivid life. I never met her, but this poem came to me after I heard of her death on Wednesday. With all that is being written about her in celebration of her life, here is my offering:
5/28/14
Maya Angelou
1928-2014
And the day came
which some had feared
more than anything
and some looked forward to
the end of human suffering
the end that is also a beginning
and how the birds are singing!
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2014
Sarah Horn Sings with Kristin Chenoweth
I was moved by this powerful and spontaneous performance by young singer and voice teacher, Sarah Horn, on August 23, 2013, who was called up onstage to sing with Kristin Chenoweth. The original duet was posted on the internet and quickly went viral (3.5 million views as of Sept 8), obviously resonating with many people. Watch here. (This version is three videos later edited together). Follow up article.
I intended to post the poem inspired by this back in August, when everyone was paying attention, but life swept me along. In working on my next book I was reviewing past poems, and this poem came back to me. So here it is: An inspiring example of what can happen if we are ready and say yes…to life. And inspiration leads to creation…and on and on…. What has inspired you lately?
8/26/13
Sarah Horn Sings with Kristin Chenoweth
(before 10,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl)
When stars align
and impossible piles on
impossible and then
you are called,
and when you are ready,
if you are brave enough and trust,
you say yes
and step up even
if heart is pounding
and knees give way
a little. You say yes
because you are in
the right place and time
to speak, to sing
for everyone. And
everyone’s heart opens some.
And you are seen
and heard and known
and for that bit at least
you are aligned with the stars
and life shifts
not just for you
but all around
and that is the gift.
What you do with what has been given,
what you do with the possibility of new direction,
what you say to the clamoring,
holding what you love close and releasing,
how you thrive without armor…and sing,
remembering who you are,
that is up to you, dear one
now and evermore.
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2013
Mirroring Back to You
In response to my long-overdue Full Blooming News e-newsletter this week, I heard back from some people. Lovely connection!
My friend Charlotte from Georgia, commented that I even wrote my response to her poetically. We were talking about getting frustrated and discouraged sometimes, feeling like giving up. And I told her a realization that had been helpful to me lately, to get out of the impossible traps we set for ourselves. (What does it mean to be successful, anyway?) She took a paragraph of mine, added line breaks and color, and the result is below, which I like it a lot. Thank you!
Charlotte is a multi-talented woman who is a pianist, composer, gardener, photographer, memoirist and makes lovely videos using all these elements. Her latest is here. She inspires me!
What have your friends mirrored back to you lately?
4/2/14
This is what I have come to understand:
my job, should I choose to accept it,
is to deliver the poems.
To get them out in the world
to as many as can be helped.
It is about redefining success
as I had been longing for.
Success is doing my job:
delivering the poems—
to an individual,
to a group,
as best I can.
And that is all.
To do that means
being as healthy
and balanced
and grounded as I can—
every day.
It means listening inside
and paying attention
before I “fall off the cliff.”
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2014
If you did not get your copy of the April Full Blooming News, with all kinds of new stuff from the past 6 months, check your spam folder or sign up here. (For those with Gmail, check other folders like “promotion” or “updates” that it might be filed in.) I do not share email addresses with anyone for any reason. Happy Spring!
Inspired by and for Corax
Snow and Shadow– MDMikus, Copyright 2014
Virtual Choir (and Eric Whitacre) has inspired many poems. This is another. VC is a virtual community and a real one too. Many VC members have met in real life, but whether they meet or not they support and encourage each other. And that positive energy spills over into real life. We are all better for it. This poem was inspired by VC member, Corax, aka Jeff. I am grateful for the connection.
1/28/14
On Imperfection
For Corax
On the other side of darkness
the past looks far away,
and if I didn’t know better,
mostly forgotten.
Live in the now,
isn’t that what they say?
I agree mostly and also intend
to remember my lessons:
not to repeat same old mistakes,
not to let the unconscious pilot the course,
to remember to breathe,
to always be kind and
to forgive, every day forgive
imperfection. For here we learn
by being in form, subject to complex patterns
we cannot sense or anticipate.
If we were perfect—
which we are somewhere—
what would be the point of
choosing to go to Earth-school?
As long as we are here—
those numbered precious days,
those rare allotted minutes—
we have work to do.
Get on with it.
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2014
Star Shadow– MDMikus, Copyright 2014