The Gift

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Day Six: Today’s Prompt: Who’s the most interesting person (or people) you’ve met this year?

When I read this prompt I was not excited.  Not because I have not met interesting, meaningful people this year but because I have.  And I have already put that energy into a piece I called the Gift.  It is about a beautiful soul who I have met across time and space but she is a part of my existence now.  There are others who have also become a part of me and I so look forward to reading their work and interacting with them, but she was the first.  She is brilliant in her ability to notice things and people who are often overlooked.  Her genius is in what she notices and what she does with it.  She is open to those who are different from her and she gives them grace.  She is ever trying to learn and grow, a woman of courage. She is dedicated to those whom she loves and is fierce on their behalf.  I love her writing.  I could not do what she does, ever.  It is like good bread and the fragrance of fresh cut grass, nourishing for body and soul.  Thank you Calensariel for noticing.  And thank you for opening the door for me and introducing me to some of the coolest smartest people I have ever known.  She is somebody worth spending your time with.  You will have missed a treasure in your life if you don’t stop in and chat with her.  Be Groovy!

The poem that follows is my attempt to give her a small token for a debt much too large to repay.  The Gift.

... are during the first week of december so our gift finding and gift

The gift was not in Her doing but in being, Herself

I was desolate

Lying still among the debris

In desperation I wrote, seeking

Needing some response, some touch, some signal from the universe

All was void

Perishing for lack of me

Her genius, Her magic lies in her attention, what she sees

Dying ember

Her heart noticed

A bruised reed She would not break

A smoldering wick She would not snuff out

She saw beauty in the brokenness and as a child would She clapped for joy

She did not attempt to brace up the reed or give it instruction

She found wonder in the ember as it was

And as she clapped her hands it fanned a fire

Her mere interest helped the reed straighten it’s Self

Her gift was not in the doing

It was in the being of Herself

And in the recognition of the beauty found in ashes

She is my hero

47 thoughts on “The Gift

  1. Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature

    So sweet. A beautiful tribute to a beautiful person. Love is the best!!! You do write so beautifully, Plato.
    Peace
    Mary

  2. Oh PG, what a wonderful tribute to Calensariel! So beautifully written, and true…the greatest gift we can give to each other is perhaps to see each other. My heart welled up…thank you brother.

  3. How beautiful! You are so talented. I just loved:

    “She found wonder in the ember as it was

    And as she clapped her hands it fanned a fire”

    Absolutely marvelous.

    • She is a kind and generous soul. I remember her first comment was something like “your writing is so beautiful”. It brought tears to my eyes and a boyish grin to my face and gave me hope. I was not feeling very beautiful then. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. I know there are a million other places you could be spending your time. It means a great deal. Thank you!

  4. You can just trash this comment, but one little correction that I found after listening to your reading of it, in the eight line you have “genesis” but in the reading you say “genius”. Both work but genius works better.

  5. I loved the recognition and acknowledgement of the influence there is in just a loving presence, it can be magical and your words lift it to a higher plane. Well done you.

  6. And I love the awareness in “All was void perishing for lack of me” — a very succinct declaration of personal power. I love simplicity

  7. “Her gift was not in the doing

    It was in the being of Herself

    And in the recognition of the beauty found in ashes

    She is my hero”

    Dear Brother, she is mine too…such beautiful, true, generous, and long deserved words.

  8. But “She found wonder in the ember as it was…” She wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way because it was all that it had left of itself and she saw the pain and the hope and the greatness that lay within. And it burned itself into her heart without even having a key.

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