In The Ebb And Flow

©2013 Louise Gallagher

In life’s constant journey
ebbing and flowing
from here to there
there are infinite possibilities
for miracles to unfold
and still I sometimes forget
in my constant looking out for the horizon
that it is here, where I am at
that miracles happen.

Sometimes I act like a fish
out of water
I gasp for air
clawing for survival
and in my frantic thrashing about
I forget
if I just sit quietly
and allow myself room to breathe
the sun and the moon and the stars
will appear
and the world will keep on turning
in the wonder of all that is
when I stop wishing for something else
and live this life I have
in this moment of possibility
unfolding within me.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

©2013 Louise Gallagher

I like to read
the ending of a story
first
flipping forward
skipping through time
to find that place
where strings are strung
together
threads are woven
into that place
where everyone lives happy
together ever after.

I like to read
the ending
first
finding that place
where life unfolds
backwards
to a beginning
where disparate threads
dangle
inticingly like cotton
candy swirls trapped
upon a cardboard tube
sharp end up
waiting
for a deft hand
to spin the strands
together
into a cocoon of sugary pink
perfection

Endings are perfect.

I like to read
the ending
first to know
who did it
did he get the girl
forever
did the eagle land
safely
did the ugly duckling
grow beautiful
becoming the swan
who skipped forward
through time avoiding
the pain of learning
how to fly

I like to read
the ending
first
but first
I must live
this moment
to find the beginning
where love grows
into being
you and me, forever
in the greatest story
ever told.

And I Wonder

©2013 Louise Gallagher

A man sits at the corner
his hands in bright yellow gloves resting
on the tires of his wheelchair
one foot is on the ground, the other is missing
there is no leg where once he walked freely.

The light turns green, he crosses over
two hands turning the wheels
his one bright orange sneakered foot pushes him along
I drive on, leaving him in my rear view mirror
and wonder about how it came to be he lost his leg.

Four men stand at a corner
ebony skinned, they huddle in puffy down jackets
eyes peering out from beneath ball caps and hoods pulled up
I know what they are doing. I know who they are waiting for
they stand there, every day, in wait of prey.

And I wonder, is the wheelchair bound man rolling
towards the elixir they dole out in tiny packets?
Is he hoping to score some relief from the sorrow
and the sadness of where his life has lead him
so far from the dreams that danced through his youth?

And I wonder, are these men proud of who they have become?
Was this their dream when first they arrived in this land
fleeing the strife of their motherland,
only to end up in another kind of war, battling for a corner
brokering deals, and stealing furtive looks for prospects and police?

And I know, the answer is not easy
it is not a straight line from where they came
to this place where the only answer they have found
to ease the fear and shame and disbelief
is to push it back and stand out
on a corner waiting
for someone
to roll on up
to buy
a moment of escape
that will make
all their dreams
come true.

Lost In The Wind

©2013 Louise Gallagher

I didn’t know what I wanted
and ended up getting what I didn’t need
I didn’t know where I was going
and ended up arriving
somewhere
I didn’t want to be.

It seems that when I am lost in inattention
or uninspired in my direction finding
I flounder in the seas of apathy
and find myself losing my voice
to the wind.

Breathing deeply I catch my breath
and rest a moment on the shores
of creativity rising from the mists
of my beginnings
crying out to me to awaken and rise up
to the essential essence of my being
alive and present to life
calling me to sing out my name.

Journey Into Being

©2013 Louise Gallagher

It is interesting how in the act
of creating, the fear of drying up
creates the negative space
where the muse cannot flow
for fear she will become lost
in the darkness of nothing
that appears when I fear
the call of my soul to run free
of words and judgment and the belief
I am in control of the process
of letting go of the darkness.

Holding onto nothing, inspiration breathes
into the space where I become one with
the muse connecting
into words creating images
that tumble and cavort into being,
joyfully leaping through the space
I once feared to go
leaving no mark of their becoming visible
but the rhythm of their journey
into being, here, now.

Holding onto nothing, fear vanishes
in the light of everything that appears.

Falling Into The Night

©2013 Louise Gallagher

Breathless I fall through the darkness, my heart
skipping upon an ocean breeze carrying me
senseless
thoughts unravelling
streaming out in wisps of clouds
floating by without regard to time or space
unravelling into fantasy
where sun and sand and sea meet on the playing field of dreams
running naked into untold stories of men with hooded eyes who
sit and sip fingerprinted glasses drained dry of absinthe
their voices rich with tall tales woven
into visions of walruses and sailing ships pushing out
from shore, my breath catches on your lips
red rimmed with the wine we tasted together laughing
at a bar where a dark eyed songstress
called down the moon
and coaxed the night awake

breathing into the moon I fall
enraptured by the fragrance of the stars
holding me captive
in the pages of a story yet untold beckoning me
to unravel the chords killing me softly
upon the sultry notes of a jazz piano spinning me
senseless into the night

satiated I let go of needing to know for whom the bell tolls
and find myself running breathless into the arms of my beloved waiting
to catch me
senseless
I fall into the night.

Immersion

©2013 Louise Gallagher

Immersed
in the act
of allowing
what is hidden
to uncover itself
freedom embraces me
in the process
of becoming.

Immersed
in the art
of trusting
in the process
I find myself
flowing
into all that I am
when I let go
of my fear
of becoming free.

In The Space Of The Unspoken

©2013 Louise Gallagher

I hear you’ve been fighting
for your life
pushing back against
the disease
that riddles your bones
like acid rain
pockmarking the crystal clear waters
of an alpine lake.

And I remember you
as I used to know you
when life flowed
full force
through your veins
never stopping you
from careening down mountainsides
leaping over obstacles
living larger than large
your body at your demand.

And I see you
as you are today
a shadow of the one
who always shared a joke
who never said die
and for whom death is
now
a real and constant
danger
and my heart is heavy
for not knowing
the words.

In the space of the unspoken
I give you my heart
and take away my silence
from this place
where words defy me.

An Ode for Blue Revue

©2013 Louise Gallagher

I see you
standing centre stage
moving stage left
right
you are always there
tucked in behind
never stepping in front
of the actor before you
you look
part of the scene
where you belong
just the way you are
always part of
not the whole part
a contributor
not the atom
bursting onto stage
setting the scene
on fire

on fire
you say
when I ask
how did it feel
and you exhale
a mighty breath
and the words
dance between us
I felt
on fire you say
and I see
the spark
light up your eyes
and I feel
your energy
flowing
like a wave cascading
against the smooth surface
of the stage against which you lean
on the ground now
you run one hand along the stage
where hundreds of feet
have tread
saying lines
throwing gestures
acting out
so others can see
there is no difference
between you
and me
no matter the address
and I know
no matter where
you are
fixed, tentative, or mobile
you are living it
large
carving out
that place within
where no matter
where you go
you are always
acting true
to who you are
listening
to the voices
rising up
from the soul
of our humanity.

All One Breath

©2013 Louise Gallagher

When God was embraced
in the feminine power
of all
one breath
becoming
the possibility of humankind
life knew no direction
but to evolve
through love’s
limitless capacity
to give birth
to beauty.

And in that one
breath
time expanded out
into infinity
and life became real
in time
as man lost his way
through the fear that love
was not enough
to hold onto.

Breathing into fear
memory awakens
to the essential nature
of the truth
of our existence.

Created in Love
we are born
to reflect
the beauty and wonder
of all that we become
when we forget
to be
anything
other than how
we were born
to be
embraced in Love.