When Your Old Friend Returns
When Your Old Friend Returns
When the roiling spin of dizziness comes,
you must do everything slowly –
rise out of bed slowly, turn your head
off the pillow slowly, lower your body
to wash your face slowly. Walk slowly.
Sit slowly. Bend slowly. Eat slowly.
You like to imagine that even your mind
must slow to match the pace
of the fluid in your inner ear, the ocean
inside your eardrum that's come off balance.
You ride the waves of spinning, find solace
in the split second of ease
that comes with each inbreath. You ask
for relief, your turn to ride the agonies
that make us soft as newborns,
naked in our need for help.
You like to imagine that the way
vertigo stills you is an invitation,
not a punishment, an opportunity to wonder
about how fast your inner universe
has been spinning, to wonder what in you
feels off kilter and longs to slow down.
It's understandable, the human desire to do,
to achieve, to effect change.
We all want to feel powerful in our own way,
like our lives are filled with possibility.
But you remember the words of the wise man,
his plea that we hold something sacred,
that we all have something before which
we feel humble. You feel your body swell
with a different kind of power – not the one
that plans and dreams, but the power to love
your impotence, to surrender the ways
you're so clearly not in control.
The day you'd planned in your head
slips out of your grasp, emptiness
making way for slowness, for stillness,
for rebalancing, for something new
to be born through you.
This was a week when illness returned, a frequent guest in my guest house. And this is the poem that arose from that particular guest. The collage is one I made a few years ago - it feels apt for where I find myself this week. I believe the words in the collage are from a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. I journey into this week with you, slowly.
“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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