September Heat Wave
Friends, I greet you from South Texas, where September continues to bring her fierce heat to the land - days over 100 degrees, hot nights, and humid mornings. One morning I was feeling overwhelmed by the heat, drenched in sweat after watering the plants. This poem came afterwards, asking me to look again at the heat I swore was 'never changing.' What a relief that nothing truly stays the same.
September Heat Wave
You moved to the South for abundant sun,
but today, while much of the world moves towards fall,
you live in the bright sharpness of late summer light.
Here, it is the end, not the middle, of summer that brings
her fiercest heat, the apex when you most pine for shade
and the coolness of rain. Even as the days shorten by minutes
the sun continues to bake the earth brown, the leaves brown,
your skin brown, sweat dripping down your back
as you walk your dog around the park. You cover
your windows with white linen to soften the heat.
And this is what you long for yourself – a veil
to ease what feels too bright, too hot, too much.
You remember a time when you felt stuck,
when it felt like nothing was changing,
when suffering was all there was.
You asked again: Is it true? Is nothing changing?
You never thought you'd say it, you who hated
winter's cold, who feared winter's dark, but you dream
of surrendering to autumn's decay,
to the promise that nothing stays the same.
At the lake you feel a touch of crispness in the water,
coolness where there once was warmth.
There's a stamp of yellow on the fingers
of the peach trees, the crunch of drying leaves
as you walk your dog under the moon.
You breath deeply, ingest the scent of dying,
eat the mercy there. Even in the depths
of heat you don't abide in perpetual shine.
There is darkness, there is night,
there is the moon, there are abundant stars
even on the hottest day.
“Play allows us a safe distance as we work on what’s close to our hearts.” - Mr. Rogers
Join me for the next session of Gathering Ourselves, Friday, September 25th
If you’re looking for a warm, supportive space to say yes to all you are, I invite you to join me and my co-facilitator, Tamara Neufeld Strijack, for Gathering Ourselves.
Gathering Ourselves is a creativity circle to gently explore what's alive in us. We use imagery, poems, children's books, songs, prompts, and our own creative expression – whether it’s collage, writing, drawing or more – to nurture a more generous, compassionate relationship with our inner world.
You don’t have to think of yourself as creative or a writer to come - merely a desire to show up and play.
Our next gathering is on Friday, September 25th from 10 am to 1 pm Pacific time/11 am to 2 pm Mountain/12 to 3 pm Central/1 to 4 pm Eastern/6 to 9 pm London time.
These circles are sacred spaces where we can let down, be, and rest for a while. I'm so moved by how tender we are with each other and the way we strengthen our relationship with ourselves.
If you feel moved to join us, we'd love to have you!
O Nobly Born is a reader supported newsletter. If you appreciate receiving the poems of O Nobly Born, you can support this offering by subscribing to the newsletter or make a donation by credit card or through paypal at paypal@growinghumankindness.com. I cherish every donation, as they support this work and enable me to offer her freely to all.
With a grateful heart, Karly
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