Heartened

This is a re-worked version of a poem that I wrote 11 years ago. When I put the book together it didn't make the cut, though I liked how I played with the word. The memory of it came up for me after a recent osteopathic treatment and I realized that so much of my work has been to move away from that sense of threat. I don't think I was comfortable with sharing the poem because that sense was still in play. I'm deeply grateful to feel that fundamentally incorrect notion slipping and sliding away... for good.

Heartened
(Take Away the T and move the R)

Threatened.
That’s what I felt for much
of my life.
Not just fear, but threat –
here, there, everywhere,
ready to pounce at any opportunity.
It had long been lurking,
creeping around the deep recesses of me,
keeping some parts of me captive.
In my healing I have gleaned some
understanding of the varied reasons
as to why and how that happened.
I know those multiple causes
were anchored to diverse stanchions.
As my mind has opened to
novel ways of thinking,
my heart to new ways of feeling,
my spirit to unique ways of expanding,
I can see and feel that,
in truth,
I should be heartened
by what I have accomplished,
how I have lived.
I can safely honor
my generosity, wit, and resilience.
So I think I’ll just
take away the t and move the r,
change feeling threatened
to being heartened
in the multi-hued,
softened moments of the
here and now.

Sarah Carlson

April 11, 2018