I once said never, sure I’d outrun the weight that shaped my mother’s obese life;
yet, like Mother, food was my Calypso, it held me close, sirens singing songs of self-loathing.
at twenty-eight, I drifted far from home, three hundred pounds from who I’d been.
I faced the mirror like Odysseus sighting Ithaca after years of uncertainty,
and I confronted ego, my one-eyed Cyclops, whose glare kept me from seeing my truth.
the journey home meant leaving behind habits, islands where I’d lingered too long~
never say never echoed like Odysseus’ vow to crewmen convinced they’d never return.
I learned the body’s architecture can change when faith and courage steady life's helm again.
for forty years I’ve lived within the home I reclaimed, its walls earned and steady.
never say never means trusting the heart to navigate storms and still reach shore.
Light reflects the songs
Poured from hearts who see
Beyond the notes of heaven
To the spirit, with gentle wings
Light embraces the wonder
Baptizing souls in love
Whispering faith and joy
Into hearts where love flows
Light inspires the believer
Expressing notes of grace
Silencing the fears who taunt
Rewriting feelings in a tender blaze
Light invites the spirit to hear
Singing joy through each prayer
Erasing the darkest shadows
With a sweetness that time can’t erase
Light, made by His glory
Restores the spirit who knows
God is in the echo of praise
Drenching the world in hope
Light is the blessing from heaven
Raining down gentlest love
Reminding that we’re His children
Saved by the One who died…
Arose and ascended to heaven
Where His light glistens,
Always reminding that love
Is His spirit, shining down on earth
Light, blessing away the dark
Reveals the music of hearts
Who know this Jesus
The love that will bring us home.
So, you were finally at home,
With your family once again.
After all the roads your heart had taken,
Through thick and thin,
Through the illusions of life,
And all the choices it had laid before you.
You chose tranquility, despite the loneliness that came with it.
You chose to be yourself.
Finally at home, you learned to find joy
In the little that was on the table,
Rather than having more on the table
While living a life filled with despondency.
Winter kisses the doorstep
with a quiet smile in icy depths;
branches bow low, as if nodding my return,
while frost tiptoes on the windows.
Smoke curls like an embrace—
I breathe it in: warm welcome Home .
Far-hilled source of all troubles dissipates.
Closer illuminates
O'er world, uprooted, this fair sign of hope:
Rainbow; a smile creates!
In some distant corner
of her universe
I will find my home,
the far memories shining
like unreachable stars
across expanses no one
has ever known,
where light may seem
as thin as empty space,
yet the energy of love
never dies,
the language of forever
I first saw in her eyes
and knew right then
the music, the music never
ever ends.
Christopher M. Swan, “Song of Susan,” 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are palms turned upward,
fingers curled around absence~
sometimes empty, sometimes heavy
with the weight of another’s hunger.
A coin, still warm from holding, is passed.
Bread is broken—hours shared.
No record records these acts~
only the the quiet math of the heart.
When you give, you are not diminished.
When you take, you are not made small.
We are rivers feeding rivers,
each thirst a bridge to the next.
Hold out your hands.
They already know
what the soul forgets~
every offering is a homecoming.
frilly carnation
pretty delicate petals
school boutonniere
first high school dance
dainty roses for lady
girls dance while boys watch
The gods are returning home again
Home again, home again,
Into the waters of these playful streams
Into the cascades of falling stars
Into the foaming glitter over lost dreams.
The gods are returning home again
Into the un-peace of this possible place
Dancing on the doorsteps of a neighbouring universe
Collecting flocks they gather grace
At the scum sketched shore.
The gods are returning home again
The pounding of their feet is heard once more
On the husks of the clouds above the gardens
In these watercoloured hills.
The gods are returning home again
Thumping, thumping, home again
Over the mush fields of mindless country men,
The gods are coming home again, my dear
The gods are coming home again I hear.
Snow falls
Home calls
Long road
Time flowed
Hearts yearn
Eyes burn
Mom waits
Wide gates
Tired steps
Sun wanes
At dusk
Dogs bark
Lights on
Till dawn
Promise
Kept ties
New morn
Souls torn
Brief meet
Last leaf
pastel petals d
a n
c
e
as blades of jade yawn
and g l e a m ~
spring's soft h o m e
c o
m i
n
g
homecoming
I was back in my village
had a plastic bag in my hand
looking for a bin to throw the bag away
in the house I once lived
An officious-looking young adult
I knew when he was a boy
told me I couldn't leave the bag there
I walked past a group of women
they saw me and whispered
since no one called my name, I walked on
at the old part of the village
I saw a café that looked like a living room
I asked for a glass of wine
A pleasant-looking old lady brought
a bottle, she called young wine
bottled a few days ago
The wine was wonderful
Sit here as long as you want
I have to leave
It's a good thing I still had the plastic bag
Agitated by the plight
Of the famine hit earth,
As a sign of consolation,
Tears shed by the clouds
Come down as raindrops
From the sieve of the sky
Clattering on windows,
Thumping on roofs…
A musical concert
For the living, below!
Plopping in puddles,
Forming brooks and creeks,
Soak every land
They come across,
With love, unbiased!
Just like the separated souls
Reunite with the Supreme Soul,
Raindrops do descend to become
One with their source!
A homecoming for them!!
Love, I'm coming home
To cook your favorite food
Massage your feet though.
We find ourselves with you in time,
Thoughts of you are roaming our minds
Angels playing music at the Gate
Heaven will be Home; let's call it fate.
Do not be weary or troubled, my friend,
With words I write but not to offend
They are written down to help us, too
It's become part of our plight with you.
You'll always be this ray of light,
In our hearts, you're one of a kind
But when that day comes around
It will break the hearts of the abound.
We'll always celebrate the life we shared,
So, please, Mary, do not be despaired
We're closing now with this in mind
You're almost Home: The Angels are flying.
The Gate is open, a reception has started,
Music's playing for your departing
God's arms are open, ready to embrace
Your presence here was not disgraced.
*Special credits and thanks:
Co-Author & Sister, Deb Kellison
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