Art Journal Page
September 4, 2014

Essentially Me

©2014 Louise Gallagher

I am going to start living life like a monk
cleansing myself of superficiality cluttering
the corridors of my creative expression
aligning itself along the fault lines
of normalcy that does not sit
well amidst the sacred calling
of my soul to listen
listen to my heart’s beat
yearning for release.

I am going to start living life like an artist
breaking through the constrictions of my need
to keep myself safe within
the voice of reason urging me
to be careful and not lean too far
over the edge of chaos calling
calling me to dance
naked with the birds
soaring on the wind.

I am going to start living life like an artist and a monk
casting off the conventional
wisdom of my being
on the road that winds its way
through the forest
of my thinking thick with the belief
there is no other way
to be than how I am,
here, right now.

I am going to start living life like a mystic
running wild through the forest screaming
high upon the wind’s of life diving
into my creative expression free falling
into the light of being who I am,
in the beauty of my spirit rising
rising up within the Divine essence
of being one with the One
here, right now.

*************************

This poem is in response to this week’s lesson for the 12 week journey I am taking with Abbey of the Arts — The Way of the Monk. The Path of the Artist. the course follows the twelve-week journey outlined in the book The Artist’s Rule: nurturing your creative soul with monastic wisdom, by Christine Valters Paintner, Abbess of the Abbey.

The invitation was to write a poem using the title of I Am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic  by Edward Hirsch as its inspiration. It was a beautiful and calming exercise into the divine essence of being present with the muse.

Journal Page
August 14, 2014

In The Quiet Hours

©2014 Louise Gallagher

Sometimes, in the quiet hours
before dawn
breaks the day
wide open
I lie beside you
and stare into
your face
sleeping.

Sometimes, I wish
you would awaken
and catch me
silently falling
into love
watching you
sleeping
beside me.

And then, I kiss
your lips
softly
and slip
from between the cover
of night leaving
its soft embrace
enveloping you.

And I rise
to greet the day
safe
in the knowing
I am with you
in Love.

Mixed media
Art journal page
August 2, 2014

Breathing Under Water

©2014 Louise Gallagher

Breathing under water
the sky becomes a distant memory
held between the earth’s lips
pressing against the sky.

Oxygen escapes my body
as I dive again
into life flowing
all around me.

Breathing under water
I forget to catch
my breath
escaping
I leave all fear behind.

Painting In Words

©2014 Louise Gallagher
(Written at River Rock Studio, July 31, 2014)

Lost in a sea of colours and shape
painting in words
poetry pouring down
from cerulean skies
burnished with umber and quinachrodone gold
floating on a sea of Pyrrole Orange
I forget that place where right and wrong
matter as I attempt to hold on
to a design I cannot let go of.
Lost in the deceit
of believing letting go
will kill my dreams
of creating under water.

Diving into the nothing
that is left
when I let go
I fall
effortlessly
into the divine essence
of life
flowing in all directions
immersing me
in its wonder.

Letting go
I fall
free
of holding on
to nothing
but the everything
that is possible
when I
let go.

Journal Entry, Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Mixed media on watercolour paper

And The Moon Beamed

©2014 Louise Gallagher

Patience dear ones, the moon whispered to the stars. It will come to pass. The sun will slip into dusk and your time to shine will come, but first, you must learn to shine in the light of day believing in your own magnificence. one night, the whole world will see the brilliance of your light. But for now, you must practice patience.

And the sun shone, and the moon beamed and the stars twinkled knowing their night would come.

And then, it came to pass that the sun fell into night’s seductive embrace and the stars came out and played Twinkle, Twinkle upon the velvety blanket of night delighting in the lightness of being all that they were born to be in the light of day.

And they shone. Bright.

And the world turned and the sun slept and the moon beamed down upon the earth wrapped in eternity’s embrace.

See my dear ones, whispered the moon to the glittering stars. There is no need to be anything other than what you are born to be. Brilliantly bright and magnificent.

Shine dear ones. Shine.

Falling Away

©2014 Louise Gallagher

I want to fall away from the edge of fear,
leaning into the unknown
releasing what was to make way for what I have
not yet discovered.

I want to skip this space of quiet
and leap into the doing
of what I’ve always done to avoid
fear.

I want to hurry into getting busy
at all the thins I know to do
to avoid being here, right now
in the silent presence
of the world awakening all around me.

There is no one way
to discover
the path.

There are many paths
to discover the way.

Stepping off the path I know
I discover
another way.

Rest again at the end of day

©2014 Louise Gallagher

(Written at River Rock Studio, July 28, 2014)

Squirrel chatters flinging morning commentary
at the sky where delicate white tendrils float by
mindless of its presence.

Morning breaks, yawning itself awake
sweeping clear night’s embrace to reveal
the brilliance of a brand new day.

I watch shadows retreat into the sun’s
creeping light pushing at the darkness
that lingers along the edges of the forest.

Contentment fills me. I feel its embrace
as I breathe into night slipping away knowing
I will come full circle to find rest again at the end of day.

From Where I Sit

©2014 Louise Gallagher

(Written at River Rock Studio, July 27, 2014)

From where I sit, leaves
rustle in the summer
breeze whispering stories
of lovers kissing
in the heat of passion
blossoming beneath the hot simmering
sun beating down.

From where I sit, dragonflies
flirt, making love
mid flight on wings
shimmering in pearly incandescence
light bodies freed
from the cocoon of summer
flowing in delight.

From where I sit, fir trees
stretch high, touching
the sky, spiky peaks
piercing blue cerulean arc
stretching above with spotted
fluffy white clouds
drifting aimlessly by.

From where I sit, a doe
prances past, senses
alert, she stops
glancing back
towards where she passed
curiosity piqued
she startles and vanishes
into the woods.

From where I sit, summer floats
effortlessly upon warm sultry
air bursting on the edge
of creativity
waiting to be awoken
at the edge of the forest.

A Haiku for Ellie

Wildflowers sway
beauty dances in the light
sadness loses ground

The haiku came from a longer poem I wrote for Ellie who passed away on June 23rd, 2014. I find it fascinating how to find the condensed nature of a poem, I must start with the fuller picture. It is only after writing the many words that clarity arises.

Like grieving. Like loving. Like life.

We must dig into the whole picture, revel in the dirt and the sun, to find the beautiful essence at the core of our being alive, of our being human, of our being here on this planet together.

In a Field of Wild Flowers

I leaned into the edge
of where you left
footprints on my heart
filled with memories
surfacing on the tears
that fell
like raindrops
nourishing
fields of wildflowers
where once you ran
free and abandoned.

I watched you run free
and cannot go with you.

It was your time,
not mine.

Peace comes in the light
of knowing you are running free
forever in time.

I got inspired today by Sandra Heska King whose blog today, Just for Fun: Color Poems, is a beautiful meditation on colour and poetic verse.

There’s a whole poetry slam thingie going on with Twitter and such of which I have little idea, but…. what appealed to me was the invitation to write a poem based on the words, Polka Dots.

So I did.

Photo courtesty of https://www.flickr.com/photos/francescarter/

On Polka’s & Dots

We danced
our feet
skipping to the chords
of an accordion
playing
the Beer Barrel Polka
while all around us
the room whirled
and I grew dizzy
holding you in my arms.

You felt so light.

I love to polka
you yelled as we swirled
your breath hot
against my ear
and I asked you your name
in one breathless gasp
and you said Dot
and I laughed out loud
and asked you, what’s your favourite?
and you replied
Kiss me! I’m Polish!

So I did.