Nourished So

“In the midst of winter, I found there was,
within me, an invincible summer.” -Albert Camus

A gentle rain greets me this morning
and from the greenness of my home,
all the world seems to flourish.

But inside, I just feel heaviness.
The heartaches of the world,
the unfixable problems,
the constant conflict,
weigh on me.

So I write,
setting it all down on the page,
thus clearing the room of my mind,
sweeping the floor,
dusty from sleep,
wiping the foggy window clean
so that the Light
that surrounds me always
can enter.

As I breathe it in,
peace enters my lungs, my heart,
flowing out to every extremity.
My fingertips tingle with it.

My soul nourished so,
I am ready to face the day.
Still the suffering, the cruelty,
the conflict.
But also, joy and wonder and love
and a resolve to respond
from this deeper space.

Why wouldn’t I offer
a cup of Light
in the form of a poem?
If only to remind you,
in case you forget,
as I often do,
that Light lives in
and around you, too.
And it is meant to be shared.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith