In and Out

In July of 2008 I attended a week long conference on poetry and teaching at the Frost Place in New Hampshire. When I was there among those 'learned poets' I felt somewhat limited in my writing ability at times. But there was also a part of me that understood that my words, written in my own style really did (and do) possess true worth. I remember standing in the the barn that had been turned into a conference center - right there at the home where Robert Frost had written many of his incredible poems - reading my own work in front of the group. As always, there were many different currents flowing through my being and it was a very empowering, somewhat humbling, experience. So much has happened since then. I've opened further, found my voice even more, cried many tears, experienced joy without reservation, and discovered the peace of my self settling into this one and only me.

Today I have felt an old, familiar energy that usually meant a poem was surfacing. I miss writing them - haven't written one since last August. I wonder if maybe they will come differently and I need to be mindful of what else might be there within. But then I had the idea of opening my notebook to see what might be calling out to be posted and I found these three. In was written during the conference. Unfurling and Enfolding were written in the weeks just after I returned. It has been lovely to revisit them...

In

Through the keyhole
wafting among elastic,
eager minds
eclectic energy
ebbs, flows,
sparkles, sifts, settles -
channeling the energy within
as the joy of shared discovery
permeates the room.

Sarah Carlson

July 3, 2008

In the barn of the Frost Place

Unfurling

The layers unravel and reveal
innate beauty, her core.
Stretching, testing,
the rapture of her truth
buoys her and...
suddenly she feels exposed,
vulnerable, unsafe.
Curling back upon herself
she thinks she is wrong, again.
The lure of her truth,
newly freed,
pulls at her and she
relaxes and unfurls once more.
Ahhh there it is,
ecstasy, energy and love -
the ability to trust,
to be just as she is.
She feels it, thinks she is there
and once again the old patterns
cause her to wither and curl.
But this time as she does,
she recognizes that something
is leaving, vaporizing into
the Universe and she
understands her process
as a slow, gentle
unfurling as she learns to
simply be herself
in the moments of
her life.

Sarah Carlson

July 11, 2008

Enfolding

Like a rose she opens
to her world
anew.
Like a day lily
she curls in
at night.
Opening and closing she
tests, tries, tarries a while
when it feels
right.
Her eyes see things she
didn’t recognize
before.
Her mind functions
more in tandem with
her heart.
She wraps her arms
around all that is
hers,
beautiful body,
open heart,
active mind,
loving soul.
Embracing all that is
within and without,
she knows that her gifts
are hers
to honor and share.
Enfolding - going in
to all that is good,
instead of going
away.

Sarah Carlson

July 20, 2008