One of the things that helped me not just cope, but also make meaning and provide hope during this difficult year is poetry. When I was a very young man, I read Theodore Roethke’s poem “The Waking” and the following lines have provided a mantra and guidance throughout my life: I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I learn by going where I have to go.
Well before the difficult days of COVID, I’ve made sure that I wake slowly, say a silent hallelujah to my first cup of coffee, and then settle in to read poets as diverse as Rumi, Roethke, Rilke, Mary Oliver and others. And then I allow myself to wait until the muse moves me to write what I’ve come to call my “Morning Prayers.” While not great works of art, these poetic ramblings have managed to get me through my days with a sense of purpose and humor. I’ve picked three poems from the past year to share that I hope, at the very least, bring a smile and will resonate with your own journey.
Mumbling to Myself Becomes a Prayer by Michael Bridges (5/7/2020)
Oh God,
Oh, Great Spirit,
Oh Anyone?
Perhaps just me.
Once again, I’m lost.
So, help me
Find my way back
To this moment.
To all that is holy
In the everyday
In the commonplace
The sunlight streaming
Through the windows
The sound of someone
Hammering in the distance
Building something
I’ll never see.
Finally,
Help me be quiet enough
To hear the song
My heart is singing.
Most of all,
Help me take
Each breath
With delight.
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A Kind of Half Ass Carpe diem by Michael Bridges (8/29/2020)
This is where I am
This is where I be
Giving just enough
Of a damn,
To stay in the moment
Watching my mind
Start to flee.
I remain grateful for
Long dark dreams
Where I meet strangers
That read Flannery O’Conner.
And gray, lush mornings
Portending thunder storms
On the way.
The luxury of the moment
And time to read poetry.
Akin to the need
Not to need
To hurry towards
The end of my days.
Falling in love
With the desire
To seize the moment
While letting go
Of any desire
To grasp it.
Stumbling New Year’s Prayer
by Michael Bridges (1/1/2021)
Let me be small
Let me be kind
Let me let go
Remembering always
This holy moment to find.
Let me be up
Let me be down
Let me be empty
Let me be found.
Let me be high
Let me be low
Let me be less & less
Always, on the go.
Let me finally,
Find my way
From there
To back here
Again & again & again
Amen.
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