(Wendy Cabell, January 7, 2025, feast of (above) Our Lady of Egypt. Image from here.)
Staircase
(for Jubilee year 2025)
Morning new, to-do list ancient:
Bed's make, candlelight, first thing.
Day's tasks, one at a time.
Wiggles of any kind, even ten minutes, woven in.
Rest stops often, to read, reach out.
Sensing — even for a second —
most soft
and gracious
space
*From prompt: Freewrite as inspired by “This Birthday” by E.J. Koh. From Lisa Freedman’s BreatheReadWrite, January 7, 2025.
(Wendy Cabell, November 16, 2024, feast day of (above) Our Lady of Vilnius/Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn/Mother of Mercy (Saint Seraphim of Sarov devotion), Our Lady of Carmine, Our Lady of Chievres (dragonslaying legend and prayer here), Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, Saint Gertrude the Great, Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Agnes of Assisi, Saint Céronne. Image from here.)
Peaceward
Peace requires drastic action.
— Josephine Nobisso, Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe
A blessing, my door being open that day.
Neighbor Irene strolls by, spots the travel items about the bed.
“Did you know?, Irene means peace”. I hadn’t. Lug my suitcase up, unzip.
“I’m to Europe soon,” I explain. It’s where she’s from.
“No, no!, not what you want, just pack what you need.
I’ll be back in a bit” she says. And she is.
My proud pile lies expectant, a barest branch.
“Wonderful!” I hear, “Now cut it in half”.
I didn’t. Not then, that Spring of 1997.
I mean seriously, how do you cut a need -– It’s needed.
I’d board my flight to Germany, Motherland.
My suitcase and two carry-ons in tow, such unruly children.
Next time, I vow — I’ll travel light.
It never came.
Hit by a truck that Fall upon return, permanent disability.
My itinerary now? A permission of sorts. A daily choosing.
Between need and need. Between good and good.
*From prompt: Write a poem about advice/conversation, as inspired by “Lament for the Maker” by Bonnie Naradzay. From Robbi Nestors generative writing class (The Poetry Salon), November 16, 2024. And inspired by productivity expert Alicia Cohen’s approach to decluttering one's schedule: not simply eliminating what no longer benefits, but choosing between the good and the good.
(Wendy Cabell, September 4, 2024, New Moon of Elul (most notable for the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy), and feast day of the (above) Georgian (or Gruzinskaya) Icon of the Mother of God, the Unburnt Bush Icon of the Mother of God, Holy Prophet and God-seer Moses, Saint Hermione, On Jewish calendar today, Moses ascends Sinai for 3rd 40 days, 1313 BC; and Prophecy of Haggai Encouraging Building of the Second Temple, 353 BC. Image from here.)
Love comes armed
with Her bin and broom.
Gathers peace, grace
palest green that seeks the Sun.
All the rest: dust, pebbles
swish,
sweep
She keeps at it --
leaves nothing the same.
*From prompt: freewrite as inspired by “love is ___”, after considering Edwin Morgan's "The Unspoken". From Daisy Barrett-Nash’s Legacy Lines (Writers at Play), September 4, 2024.
(Wendy Cabell, June 29, 2024, feast day of Our Lady of Linares, the (above) Kasperov Icon of the Mother of God (also connected with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Tatiana), Madonna of the Milk, Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Mary the Mother of John Mark. Image from here.)
Nature does not hurry,
yet everything is accomplished.
― Lao Tzu
She sprints, my neighbor, umbrella clasped. Me, I’ll finish up that social studies report today. Maybe. Grandma Dee is of an odd mind that sick days are for resting, getting well.
She’s at the stovetop now, I wander over. A rare thing, this having her to myself. No full house soundboom, everyone’s off... work, school. “Potato soup”, Grandma says, slipping the lid on the pot. Its cozy steam draws me near.
“Are you putting in any chicken for protein?” I ask, anxious to rebuild some strength. “No, that would make it something else. Your Grandma Otten always gave us plain old potato soup when we were queasy.”
“How about some carrots and celery for the nutrients?” “No, just potatoes and sea salt. Don’t confuse your body with a bunch of other things. Starch settles your stomach. Salt balances the electrolytes. That’s what you need when you’re sick, you know — for things to just be very simple.”
All day long I’m sipping that potato soup, nibbling on saltines, and looking out the window. It’s become a movie theater of sorts. I nestle in. Sun’s slow slide between glow and hide, the main feature. Thunder an intermission. A squeal from the toddler next door brings comic relief.
I suppose the homework can wait awhile. For the moment, I am... home.
Fifty years later now, it's a perpetual sick day — severe neck injury, Complex Regional Pain (CRPS), vision/respiratory/GI distress. So every day I’m at home. Outwardly such quiet, peace. Inwardly still my penchant for elements, to do lists, toppling pile of causes, effects.
That is till I feel a presence, scoots me close sometimes. Points to moon’s languid rise out the window. Turns to tug, inner tide...
*From prompt: Freewrite as inspired by Li-Young Lee's “Persimmons", with an eye to remembering a conversation that has stayed with you, noting its setting, experience, and impact. From Robbi Nestor's Generative Writing class (the Poetry Salon), June 29, 2024.
(Wendy Cabell, June 7, 2024, (above) Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, and feast day of the Apparition of Saint Joseph in Cotignac, Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholome and Blessed Basilissa Fernandez. On Jewish calendar today is Flood Waters Recede (2105 BC). Image from here.)
If I were brave
(for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, 2024)
Kitchen shelves toppling, food held back --
it's for my flight from world’s coming crash.
If I were brave, instead I’d sweep
an uncluttered space. Opt for smiles
versus piles of symptom logs,
endless diagnostics.
Perhaps I’d wander off a bit,
favor wriggling fingers and toes
over sorting every document
and scribbled note.
Or better yet,
I'd christen the stockpiles.
Paint the diagnostics.
Organize to a tune –-
hand to heart now,
in-breath out-breath
in tandem, in harmony
in pilgrimage
as horizons open
for me and Thee.
Most steady.
Most pleasant.
I'll be brave in Your company.
(Wendy Cabell, June 5, 2024, feast day of the (above) Blessed Virgin of Help, and the Icon of the Mother of God of Igor. On Jewish calendar today is the Passing of Samuel (877 BC) and Jerusalem Liberated (1967). Image from here.)
With Due Ceremony
(a found poem)
I firmly believe in lunch
sweet stopping-fueling-sighing —
though I can pass right on by the stopping part
perhaps the most important part, its look
round at morning’s accomplishments,
short siesta, soft bow before next bend —
and most magical of questions:
“What’s next?
*After fellow BRWers Betty Fannelli (line 5, beg. line 6) and Gerri Gutwein (end line 6, line 7-8) from their freewrites, used with permission, June 5, 2024 BreatheReadWrite.
*From prompt: Finish the thought of “I believe in lunch”. From Lisa Freedman’s BreatheReadWrite, June 5, 2024.
Unfinished
task (n.): from Latin tasca, “ a duty, assessment”
Joseph’s boat (see it just out back window, his tools tossed round nearby) Seeds as yet planted, lying out front door here on the porch My schedule needing weeding A partially filled commemoration list, prayers for the living and departed (shouldn’t this be topping the list?) Yet to be covered books Snoozed emails Jumbled papers Crowding in my head Paintbrushes patient, nudging My arms, they need s o m e b r e a t h i n g s l o w f i l l b u o y a n t -- m o s t
w e l c o m e b a l l o o n
*From prompt: Free write as inspired by “My Sister, Who Died Young, Takes Up the Task” by Jon Pineda, and the etymology of “task”. From Lisa Freedman’s BreatheReadWrite, April 14, 2024.
(Wendy Cabell, October 17, 2022, feast day of the (above) Purity of the Blessed Virgin (“Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are full of grace… You are full of grace, the Lord’s free gift and it overflows in you filling your soul with every virtue and perfection”), Our Lady of La Pampa, Our Lady of Milan, and of Saint Bonita Brioude, Saint Domna of Tomsk. On Jewish calendar, today is Hoshana Rabbah, the 7th day of Sukkot, which unfolds into Simchat Torah. Image from here.)
Yes! No!
(after Mary Oliver)
How important it is to walk along,
not in haste but slowly,
looking at everything and calling out
Yes to these honey wood walls, move round by touch.
No to a tendency to stockpile, now a bit too much.
Yes to presiding Icons, their gentle nod.
No to long list “Must Transcribe”, oddly silent.
Yes to these honey wood walls just now
Yes
*From prompt: Freewrite as inspired by (and in this case writing after) “Yes! No!” by Mary Oliver; from Lisa Freedman's BreatheReadWrite, October 16, 2022.
(Wendy Cabell, published in Writers at Play Presents: The Art of Letter Writing, edited by Daisy Barrett-Nash, Equal Arts, 2023. From July 5, 2022, feast day of (above) Our Lady of Refuge (also yesterday), the Seven Joys of Mary, Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, and Saint Modwenna. Archduchess Margaret of Austria also remembered today. Image from here.)
Venture
(an itinerary for when mind swirls,
journal jumbles; after Drew Gardner)
venture (n.)...a variant of adventure (n.)
Trusting honesty
moving toward form,
its buzzy rich sound,
its hands round what
heart feels and knows yet
not, trusting -- trusting
honesty, moving
toward form
*From combined prompts: Freewrite as inspired by Drew Gardner’s “Five Essays”, from Lisa Freedman’s BreatheReadWrite, July 5, 2022.
(Wendy Cabell, June 9, 2022, feast day of Our Lady of Ligny/Our Lady of Virtues, of (above) Our Lady of Grace and Mary the Helper (two of the oldest titles for Mary), of Our Lady of the Plain, and of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, Five Persian Nuns, Saint Ephrem of Syria, Saint Columba of Iona, and Saints David Gareji and Lucian. Image from here.)
While Waiting For a Poem
...for words unruffled unraveling,
for joy welling up in my chest–-
turn to tidying up
for said guests
*From prompt: Freewrite as inspired by Luljeta Lleshanku’s "Waiting for a Poem”; from Lisa Freedman’s BreatheReadWrite, June 9, 2022.
(Wendy Cabell, May 4, 2022, feast day of Our Lady the Helper (Normandy), Our Lady of Gray (France), the Staro Rus Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God, and Saint Monica, Saint Pelagia of Tarsus, Blessed Margareta Kratz, Blessed Jean-Martin Moye, Martyrs of England etc, and the Shroud of Turin. Image from here.)
Toddler’s Wand
“Do it again!”,
sky blue-yellow-red—
recreation, inebriation,
celebration of all that’s not
quite yet.
*From prompt: Freewrite as inspired by three colors of choice; from Lisa Freedman’s BreatheReadWrite, May 4, 2022.
