A New Dawn for the Soul
Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream. ~ Maya Angelou*
I’ve got a soul. You’ve got a soul.
All God’s children have souls.**
All life in all forms has souls.
And to heal the soul of our nation
and to heal the soul of the earth
learn this experientially.
In the absence of a child or an elephant
try knowing with a loving pet—
a cat or dog a horse or a turtle.
Saying the word helps: Soul.
There. I’ve said it seven times.
Seven times seven
is the recipe for forgiveness
is the repetition for reparation
is the prescription for what ails us
who are soul-sick.
Whether we know it or not
we are in an epidemic
and no quarantine
protects the earth from us
when we lie down with it
and wake to drip hot desire on it
instead of the light from within
that sees with the Light of All
Creation. Here is the paradox:
Does the soul radiate its light
from or to us? We don’t know.
Are we the home of soul
or is each body of life
a way station of soul?
If the paradox were solved,
would that change how we act?
Soul Soul Soul—that’s seven more
Souls. I swallow the word.
Not knowing what soul is, I plant
the word in my mind, heart, body.
Soul grows truth: Not mere sound
or symbol, soul is the entire breath
needed to protect and extend life.
*from
her "On
the Pulse of Morning"
**based on Black Spiritual "GOING TO SHOUT
**based on Black Spiritual "GOING TO SHOUT
For my prompt
Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Psyche / Soul
My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.
© 2018 Susan L. Chast
I love the progression of the thoughts. I love to think soul as self luminous giving us light of knowledge. Such a beautiful poem!
ReplyDeleteMY goodness this is good!💞 Such a wonderfully deep and introspective poem this is, Susan. Especially love; " Are we the home of soul or is each body of life a way station of soul?" This thought will stay with me for a while.💞
ReplyDeleteMy new favourite of yours. I loved every line. I especially resonate with the lines about us being soul-sick, whether we know it or not. So true, on a global scale. Though thankfully many exhibit radiant light to show us it is still possible - even, actually, NECESSARY. We need light like never before. Loved this one, my friend.
ReplyDeleteGod is seven - I love the chain of thought here and the exploration of the soul
ReplyDeleteSuperb poem Susan. I love the questions and the affirmation I agree with, everything has a soul, an essence. I must reread this. It is full of wise thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delight! I love the sheer joy that exudes from the frenetic pacing!
ReplyDeleteIf only we would realise that we are part of complex band of living things in a fine balance of existence. Sdadly we are the one species likely on Earth likely to make a mess of everything because we think so much and are so greedy. We happily destroy the Earth thinking there is another one to hop on quite regardles of the millions of other inhabitants trying to keep living here.
ReplyDeleteSuch a garden of flowered thoughts to ponder. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you have taken a well-known gospel song and developed it into a thoughtful poem, Susan.
ReplyDelete"we are in an epidemic" that is true. But the act of swallowing the word gives me hope. Perhaps, at some point we'll realise that "soul is the entire breath needed to protect and extend life." Well expressed!
ReplyDeleteLove the way your poem builds to that final truth.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on this, Susan. I was reading the comments and saw that it's a take on a gospel song? I wouldn't have known I didn't recognize it. No matter, your poem shows your lovely soul.
ReplyDeleteA thought provoking write Susan.
ReplyDeleteIs our ‘soul’ a separate entity from our body or just our brain induced thought process mingled with our emotions? What use would a body be without a thought process/or soul if you like?
The creation of this universe holds similar unanswerable questions: if God made the world, who made God? If God just WAS, why couldn’t the universe be the same?
If the universe is the result of the Big Bang, where did the initial singularity stem from?
I realise the above is all written in a ‘simple’ way Susan, but it is morning here and my brain takes a couple of hours to come to its senses – and that two hours isn’t up yet!
Thank you for making me think.
Anna :o]
Your poem is music to my soul!
ReplyDeleteI love the energy and tone of your poem.
ReplyDeleteI feel it is a poem that depicts the harsh realities with positivity. I admire the way you did that