Writing her dreams
I follow her in.
She craves the old path
Coyote, crow, fox.
The tricksters are at it
again.
© Angela Bigler 2013
Sri Anandamayi Ma
Meditation
not like a dream
but a gentle way
you hold yourself
So many people
forget to be loved
to be love
There are smooth
tender ways
to move through the
mountain high hills
The fog lifts
stage curtains
Swept back
from theater
into the life
© Angela Bigler 2013
A poem by my mother
Reflections
Had I been adequately prepared for your visit,
I would have…
Plucked the weeds from my garden
And replaced them with budding beauties,
Invited you to sit on a soft carpet of moss,
Shaded by growing greenery,
Planned a picnic of your favorite delicacies from distant lands.
I could not arrange an appropriate setting,
Yet you made yourself at home among weeds and unpainted boards.
You refused refreshment and placed my needs ahead of your own.
Like our Lord, you came to serve.
Long after sunglow, I’ll savor your sensitivity.
~Nancy J. Ressler
photo credit: Grant MacDonald via photopin cc
Graduation
There was a day each year
when baby ducks were led
from the nest behind the school
through crowds of teachers, students, praise
Waddling over smooth, linoleum floors
through the lobby where the crowd
beheld the sacred, duckling footsteps to the door
They would leave the nest
smooth, round tables
long days of numbers and words
for dreams of water songs and wings
made real
© Angela Bigler 2013
Surrender
I should have bowed down
And surrendered
Every day
I should have told you
I could see you
Lovely
Like the wings of all those geese
Who flew away
When we could not
Our minds are different
Every nuance
Every chord
Like tight wound wire
Exposed
All the songs and visions
Overwhelm
The feelings come in swarms
Through skin and bone
And brain
All those nerves
Are reaching
For a breath
Within the flame
Without it
Where would words be?
Would summer be so deep and hot?
Electric
Can we live without ourselves?
Maybe, for a day
What then?
A quiet respite
In a lonely, tired grave?
You have a light
Surrender
To the weight
Of all these
Prayers
Heavy
Till you bow down
Head to earth
And shed the blame
© Angela Bigler 2013
photo credit: chiaralily via photopin cc
Turtle Time
Yesterday, my friend and I were out hiking around a nearby lake and she pointed out two bumps on a log in the shallow water. We rushed to a better vantage point and confirmed that it was two turtles, one big and one little. Their long necks were stretched out of their dark shells. We could not make out their expressions, but I imagine they were happy to be together warming in the sunlight.
Right now I feel like a turtle taking small steps in the writing of my book. This is a time of cautious reflection. I, like the turtle, need my four feet on the ground. Inside my womb-like shell I can wade through the pages and ask myself the big questions. What is the goal of this book? What scenes matter most? What can be left behind? How do I balance the heart of what I have to share with an adventure that engages the reader?
What I know for certain is that it is a book about finding light in dark places. It is about our roots, the ones we are born with and the ones we create. It is about the magical point of light that can save you on the darkest journey. The kind of spark you see in lucid dreams. This tiny, spinning orb hums as it pulses and shines. You reach out to touch it and it radiates through you as a warm, inner blanket. I want to take you with me into this forest, transform and fire you with the elements and send you home polished and new. I want you to feel what it is like in the mysterious rabbit hole and guide you back to life.
I’ll venture back out when I’m done.
© Angela Bigler 2013
photo credit: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region via photopin cc
Gratitude
I am thrilled to be the recipient of 2 blog awards! I am new to this blog scene so it fills me with a delightful, fluttery feeling in my heart to be nominated!
From the amazing blogger Megan at http://meganhasocd.com/ I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award.
From the fantastic blogger Gwen, the 4 AM Writer at http://gwenstephens.wordpress.com/ I have been nominated for the Liebster Award for up and coming bloggers.
I have been instructed to share some interesting things about myself:
I took one flying lesson in a Cessna.
I spend more time with animals than people.
I quit smoking about 3 years ago.
I love art and taking photographs. Sometimes I paint but I can only paint abstract things and not anything that is supposed to look like something.
One of my most favorite books: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Currently reading: Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Currently listening to: Arcade Fire Funeral
Favorite Color: Purple – I can be seen nerding out in too much purple when walking the dogs
Guilty pleasures: George Takei feed on Facebook, Little House on the Prairie
SO NOW I PAY IT FORWARD AND NOMINATE
For The Versatile Blogger Award:
http://biljanazovkic.wordpress.com/ Whose poems and paintings are amazing
http://brokenlightcollective.wordpress.com/ All submissions are from photographers living with or affected by mental illness and its all beautiful and thought provoking
http://disappearinginplainsight.com/ Francis Guenette’s site is full of fabulous thoughts on writing, her life, and glorious photographs – many from her lovely home in British Columbia.
http://nedhickson.wordpress.com/ Ned makes me laugh and that makes me happy.
http://throughtheluminarylens.wordpress.com/ Bruce not only takes stellar photographs but takes you on a thoughtful journey of places and ideas.
I nominate this fine blog for the Liebster Award.
http://drivelikejayhu.wordpress.com/ Jay is a wordsmith extraordinaire. He’s got that razor sharp wit I love!
I am nominating this blog for being inspiring:
http://leveluphealth.wordpress.com/ Lucas suffered a spinal injury in December 2011. On his blog he shares his road to recovery and takes the time to lift up everyone who stops by.
Thank you for visiting. I hope you are inspired to check out these great blogs.
Redwood Dream
Dreaming takes down
The light curtain
Bathes us with visions of pregnant earth
Her life, her dreams
If we could listen in
Hear her whisper in the trees
See the color in their dreams
Those monolithic earth whale redwoods
Go see them in your heart
When you cannot feel their leaves
Or bark
Or roots
Inviting
You
She meets us there
That sacred
That vision
That rooted beauty
Folds our prayers
Into her soft bark
Her singing leaves
Her living roots
Inviting
Us to strength
Footstep by footstep
Connected in
Her graceful image
She
Can
Hearten
All of them
These waking walking earth dreams
© Angela Bigler 2013
photo credit: Lotus Carroll via photopin cc
Watching
Bathed in words
She glanced within
and grinned.
Was anybody watching?
Who could care?
© Angela Bigler 2013
photo credit: Lotus Carroll via photopin cc
Woman
To be woman
Is the flowing strength
Surrender
This caring for others
Breaks my heart
But lifts me
And my curves
And bone
Smooth pelvis
What is different
Is my voice
More like a song
Or spirit
Than a masculine gruff
Not that I can’t growl
And bare my teeth
And burn
But my soft folds
Add dimension
And my million thoughts
Create
A certain way that contrasts
Yin from yang
To be woman
Is the pulse
And wind
Melodic mounds
Of birth
No matter if her
Children are
Her words,
Her songs,
Or beings
That she tends
© Angela Bigler 2013
Angela Bigler 