Category Archives: poetry

When you’ve meticulously calculated all possibilities
to eliminate every worst case scenario and
life still takes you in the other direction;
When your past lays claim to your present and futur
and your eyes are captivated by the rear-view mirror;
When the seeds of bitterness germinate
like invasive species from another kingdom;
and you look in the mirror but
don’t recognize the face anymore.
May the call to your destiny wake up in you;
May your limitations humble your heart but do not crush your spirit;
May faith grow in you to live in the tension of the already and not yet;
and in disorientation may the wall come down around you
and you will cease to do this alone.
May you be in awe by the miracle that you are
still being breathed by this breath of Life today.

When numbing seems to be your only option
When life seems to have survived a deadly storm
and you found yourself staring into the ruins alive
but half dead; you have nothing left in
you to stand up in the rumble of chaos.
When your heart slowly hardens
by the darkening of our times
and unfulfilled promises,
being exiled from that which you have held dearly for decades.

When darkness becomes too comfortable
turning on the light hurts your eyes;
May the light of daybreak warm your spirit;
May refuge come to seek you in exile;
May you find the strength to walk the parched places of your heart;
May you hear the whisper in the rumble:
the bleakest place is where the invisible grace
meets you most profoundly.

every door is a welcome home, and goodbye. you close one door and
enter into the next until you find another door to open, and close. every new
moment arises is another liminal and another and another. you behold the
thin layer, decide which way to lean in, for now, for how long, back and forth
in stillness, to stay or to shift. every moment is collaborating with you; you can
dance with it, or tune out, say no, and walk away and it never leaves, never
goes away, and there it is again another moment, another breath. the intangible is incredibly tangible, so simple it makes you laugh with it and at yourself.

something has died. something has come alive.
this rotten seed has finally stopped trying.
as if fresh ripen figs turned into dark dried crystals over time.
over time the trees gain a few rings and lose some buds;
over time soil gets more fertile, or sterile;
over time, not all bacteria become probiotics,
but some make aged wine.
over time I learn to embody myself, with or without fear
over time all prayers are answered, in ways that I like it or not.
Today marks the end of an era.
Let’s rest in peace without hope,
knowing that the yet to be arrived will come,
if I choose to stop hoping and start choosing.

by Gracelynn Lau Feb 12, 2020