“”Hope” is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without

And never stops — at all.”

- Emily Dickinson

(Painting: Letting Go by Lisa Marquis Bradbury)

Today is International Women’s Day:

I wrote Watch Us Stand Strong in 1994. I’ve shared it here before but felt today was a good day to share it again:

Watch Us Stand Strong

Long have we walked
Through the valley of our sadness,
Searching for a way
To end all the madness.
Long have we toiled,
Silent and unnoticed,
Suppressing our knowledge
And our gift to heal the world.
We are large by number,
We are small through the ages,
There are few that have spoken,
Few that dare to read
Our pages.
We are mothers,
We are daughters,
We are sisters,
We are friends;
We contain the lifeblood,
And the passion
Of all the universe
In our souls.
We are women,
Full of knowledge,
And beauty;
The Queens of our planet.
We are home now,
Watch us stand strong,
It is time to heal
Our world.

Check here for 10 Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day. I spent a good part of International Women’s Day outside in my yard enjoying to 70 degree day here on the river. A little time communing with the Great Mother Goddess is always balm to the soul.

There’s no better day than Valentine’s Day to share a love poem. I have long been a great fan of romance poets, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Love Be Not of Reason is from my own journals…

Love Be Not of Reason

 

Love be not of reason,

No right nor wrong,

Love be of the season

For which there is no song.

No sense be made of desires

That once can cripple

But, the strongest tree

And, bring mere mortal man

Down to his knee.

Who sayeth that love must be so,

Who speak the words

Of Love and Woe

For truly as the sun doth shine

Your touch upon my lips

Be pleasure that is,

 But, yours and mine.

Who knows what aching

Upon thy breast

Does bring your soul to lay and rest;

Weary in the arms of love,

That heal the questions

For which there be no answer.

Love be the stars that shine,

In darkest night

Bright in your eyes;

Love be the sun that rises

To seek a new day

Of pleasure in your arms.

Love be the song of ecstasy

When in its throws

We merge as one.

Love be not of reason

No right nor wrong,

Love be of the season

For which there is no song,

But that only of two hearts

That beat as one

In it’s sweet pleasing.

c. Pamela J. Leavey

Searching through some old Word docs recently I found some of my poetry that I had put into Word docs from my journals. This one called out to be shared…

Gift Of Life

Love,
Be it an expression,
A word,
A thought,
A feeling;
Used oft by some,
Not by others.
For many it be
The truth that sets,
Them free.
For some it be
The chains,
That binds them.
Love,
To my tenet,
Be my gift
Of life.
For, I am free,
To love,
You;
And, all who touch
My soul
With the clarity
That each expression,
Be my gift
Of life,
To share with joy,
And oft
Forgiveness
In my heart.

(Gift Of Life & Red Day Lily ~~ c. Pamela J. Leavey)

A little more music and poetry of John Trudell and Bad Dog tonight…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Oh yes… It Is What It Is… John Trudell and Bad Dog…

Click here to view the embedded video.

My heart beats wildly

In the arms of Mother Nature…

And I could dance with abandon

Like the bare trees in winter…

I am so in love

With the Great Mother Goddess…

(Dancing Tree Woman ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)

(c. Pamela J. Leavey Amesbury, MA 2011)

Like Aged Redwood

Rise woman in your restlessness
Take solace in the strength
You covet;
For in your glory
If it be you alone who see,
You know not any man
Shall rescue thee.
Stand tall and firm,
Like aged redwood,
Leaves gracefully blowing
Upon the winds of change,
Be caged not like wild cat in capture,
For within you is
No soft tamed feline
To those who would make prey upon you.
Do not be ruled by fears
Meant to blind you,
For within your heart
You see truth and beauty.
Yours is the pinnacle of love’s creation
Let no pinion tie you down.

c. Pamela J. Leavey 1993

Wise Women

It has been said that wise women
Have many stories to tell,
Perhaps that may be true
Of those who have lived
On the edge of both
Heaven and hell.
I wake each day to face the mirror
To see a face that hides
It’s past,
Oh yes, you see it has it’s stories
That hide behind the painted mask.

c. Pamela J. Leavey 1994