Snapshots from Our Windows

A Collaborative Poem by CCJ Autumn 2020

Two gangly bougainvillea branches arch right and left
like fountain water sprays
as a third gently taps on the south-facing window.

The birds in multiple shapes, sizes, and plumage
scramble to eat all the pine nuts they can gather.

The sky’s a perfect shade of blue dotted with wisps of dainty white clouds,
the air crisp with a chill, the trees stand in their glory.

A long stretch of conifers grows from rock flashed with bronzing white birch.
Light blue water, breeze making ripples,
the sky’s light blue with a scrim of white cloud

Sunlight filters through the leaves as the wind rustles through them,
displays a moving mosaic of golds and rusts and greens

The garden hose stretches across the browning lawn,
beyond the withered garden,
meant to replenish the moisture in the compost pile

Yellow leaves drip from the dark branches
against the cloud-streaked sky.
Fall’s radiance fades toward winter.

Sections of trees sprawl
from a parking lot next to the hospital.
Concrete.

Leaves dance in the breeze,
catching the moss in their dance.
The breeze sings through the leaves.

I spy that old potted Rubber Tree from the dining room window.
Silhouetted smooth ovoid leaves
gnarled and thriving like its original owner.

We agreed to care for it when he moved back East 30 years ago.
He’s returned now, but not for his plant.
It remains the first thing I see looking out towards the front porch.

A maple tree is already naked showing its winter figure.
Its neighbor, a maple is still half-dressed in golden yellow and blazing orange.

The miniature mast-like trellis looking bold
as the spent jasmine continues to twirl in the wind

Thousands of miniature raindrops fall from the sky,
on the land, on the road, on the green pine tree, upon the head of a squirrel

The fine lawn is now a blanket of yellow and gold elm leaves,
that hung on until the frost/freeze gave them pause.

Summer is ushered out, fall takes its place on the stage–
brisk, tinged in red and orange, burning in one last riot of color.

Midst the brittle stalks of coneflower and remnants
of bedraggled sunflowers blooms a mound of coral pink stonecrop
and a sprinkle of purple gentians

Reminders that the flowering season is not quite over.
A crimson maple leaf has fallen into the withered foliage.
A welcome trio of color — yellow, dark red, and purple.

Jitterbug. Tango. Samba.

A trio of butterflies
Two blue swallowtails fluttering around
the frothing golden powdery pollen-laden dance floors
of Maximillian and Bush sunflower fields.

One majestic orange and black
stained-glass winged,
migrating monarch lands.

Every inhale I take, it seems their wings unfurl and pause;
I sit in awe in this prairie space.

One breath. One step. One delight.

The miracles of the common as seen from our windows.

——-

We write collaborative poems throughout each CCJ season. I offer a prompt and anyone who wants to contribute writes a few words or a few sentences, then I compile everyone’s words into a single poem. It’s lots of fun to see how everyone’s words come together. This is just one of the poetry practices that pop up in Contemplative Creatives Journey — here’s the offer if you’d like to check out the other creative practices we explore. We begin again on September 22, 2021.


Emergence – Poem and Mandala

Emergence ©2016 Bo Mackison

Emergence ©2016 Bo Mackison

In the middle of the night
when my companion is the tick
of the second-hand
– and heart beat

In the early morning hours
awaiting first light
so still in the house
– too quiet

In wait for the coming of storm,
be it thunder, hail, snow squall
– or a brewing wild within

Midst scheduled days or days unfettered,
in calm or angst
with joy or grief,
– take up your pen and paper

And in keen or chant, praise or lament,
in raised voice or sultry whisper,
(remember this)
– all is sacred and profane

Cast spell and benediction,
turn your words into phrases
and phrases into lines
– invite unruliness and ecstasy too

Take up your pen,
invoke madness or muse
Take up your pen and write
– then, poetry emerges.

A Stitch, In Time – A Mandala and a Practice

A Stitch, In Time © 2016 Bo Mackison

A Stitch, In Time © 2016 Bo Mackison

A Stitch, in Time

There are moments in time when it is just too noisy, too busy, too much.

What is the single thing (the stitch) I can do to bring quiet and ease to my life? Right now, without delay.

Some things I do when I need to step into a place of ease:

  • First, the breathing. Steady. Slow. When I feel in control of nothing, I remember I am always in control of my breath.
  • Look. What do I see that is pleasing, comforting. My lounging hound? The orchid I was given as a surprise “I love you” gift? The view outside my window – the backyard maple with a halo of yellow-orange? The sky, deep blue and infinite? What do I see that offers me a moment of ease?
  • Listen. No, really listen. Close your eyes and listen. What do you hear? The murmur of street traffic? Children laughing? Background television? Birdsong? Take a moment to listen to the sounds that surround you. How does this make you feel? If this is a positive experience, pay attention. If this provokes a negative response, pay attention. You hear these sounds even when you are not consciously aware of such. How might you make your environment more sound-friendly? How might you invite more ease?
  • Touch. Something we do not often think about is how touch can affect us. It is a powerful tool, too often neglected. Are you sitting comfortably? Are the clothes you are wearing body-friendly? No binding or rough spots? Touch is also a comfort I can add with minimal effort. Sometimes I finger mala beads. Or hold a special talisman — a ceramic heart from a dear friend — in my hand while I work. Or I rest my feet in the furry coat of Gracie the Wonder Dog — this makes us both incredibly happy. How can you add the gift of touch to this moment?

In a world that often feels over-whelming and loud, how can I find ease and comfort in the tiny space I inhabit? How can I make my environment friendly and conducive to my work? It does not have to be complicated or time-consuming. Just an awareness, a pause, may be enough to invite ease and calm into your day.

Remember. One stitch at a time!

 

Mandala as Container – Overall Theme

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Star Shine © 2016 Bo Mackison

Last in the series of 5 mandalas I created after naming “creative path” as my intention. Each morning for five days I paired a mandala with a Desert Wisdom Card, and then reflected on a question. I followed this with a free write keeping the intention “creative path” in mind.

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5: THE SUM. THE ENERGY. THE OVERALL THEME.

MANDALA: STAR SHINE

DESERT CARD: TRANSITION

Explore and bring awareness to the energy of the night.

In the night, in the dark, the cosmos born, swirling energy, awakening.

Infinite possibility, infinite opportunity to create, this emerges from the dark times of the soul, from the energy of chaos.

Creation does not begin in light. Creation begins in the dark, emerges from darkness, from nothingness, from the void.

The grandest of transitions — from chaos, the cosmos is born. From darkness, comes energy.

~~~~~~~~~

This writing practice is a part of my #contemplativecreativesjourney.

 

 

The Mandala as Container – The Future

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Snake Dance © 2016 Bo Mackison

Third in a series of five mandalas I created after naming “creative path” as my intention. I then paired a mandala with a Desert Wisdom Card each morning for five days and then reflected on a question. I followed this with a freewrite keeping the intention “creative path” in mind.

Illumination - A Desert Wisdom Card

Illumination – A Desert Wisdom Card © 2014 Bo Mackison

3: THE FUTURE. THE NEXT STEP?

MANDALA: SNAKE DANCE

DESERT CARD: ILLUMINATION

This past May as I was preparing to pack and return to the Midwest, I found a snake shed in the rocks steps from my front door. And in the past few months, snake has frequently appeared in many places.

Snake is change, transition, transformation.

Snake dances, her rattle sounds. Be aware. She shows her shadow side, her underbelly, a place of vulnerability. Be open. Paired with the desert card illumination. Shine light into the darkness.

She speaks: do not mess with me. Show disrespect and I will strike; show respect, treat me with kindness and I will companion you. I am strong medicine. I have been with you since you found my shed in Arizona. I am the symbol of transformation, outgrowing the old and shedding it. Now I am bright and gleaming in my new skin.

New skin. Is it too soft, is it vulnerable? Yes. And still, do I show up with underbelly exposed, my shadowy side illuminated in the desert sun? Yes. Vulnerable and exposed…and yet? Here I am. I keep showing up. I am present, I am transition, I am transformation. And see what I do? I stay close to the ground, often out of the spotlight.

AND I chose the illumination card in tandem with snake dance. I am wise and I show up. I have great power and yet I do not strike without provocation, and then only in self-protection.

How will I show up? Slip into the light and still stay grounded. Hold on to the power to self protect and to change. Such powerful medicine, this “no” medicine. Such creative force, a living force that courses through, never-ending.

so many life death rebirth challenges and you have faced the all, you have experienced rebirth on so many levels, the four levels of wholeness – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.

Release the identity which binds, constricts, limits growth. And dance. dance. dance.

~~~~~~~~

Coming in the next post, Day 4. What is the Gift or the Guidance?