Inspirational Poetry: Offerings to the Beloved

The words come
Fluttering, thundering
Returning from a journey
They only give hints at,
Tickling the imagination
And caressing the heart;
They arrive with no rules to hold them,
And drift into place--
Read aloud, perhaps senseless,
But held quietly, and they grow--
Into feelings envisioned,
Into truths admitted,
Into landscapes of us.

Poetry is the language of the gods speaking to our mortal minds. Or the intuitive right brain trying to get the attention of the logical left brain. Or the subconscious revealing its symbolic life to the conscious mind. In other words, poetry is a language that can take us into another state of consciousness.

When I read the master poets,(Hafiz,Rumi,Kabir, Mary Oliver, David Whyte, and others) singing their praises to the Beloved, to Nature, to That which is beyond our understanding, I am taken on the wings of that devotion, out of the daily world.

It is so important to get out of that logical frame of mind that creates shopping lists, and checks off daily planners. To live only in that frame of reference is very deadening. The heart is forgotten.

Inspirational poetry is nutrition for the heart, better than any cardio workout. When poetry comes to me, it falls onto the page (usually my journal)like rain, and my tears follow. Inspirational poetry is very personal; it is from God to the poet. Does it have to be great poetry? Not necessarily, not in the terms of poetry critics. To the beloved of the Beloved it does not matter.

Inspirational poetry, or sacred poetry, come from the dimension beyond our 3-D perspective. Such inspirations are great to meditate upon. Some of the inspirational poetry I will include on this site I will make commentary upon, others will be left alone as is. Some will be complete poems, while others will be excerpts.

Writing Your Own Inspirational Poetry

While meditating on other inspirational poetry is a great way to open your heart and elevate your mind, writing your own poetry opens a direct line to you and your Higher Self.

Keep a journal. I have had journals addressed to God. These are conversations that go both way. Keep it with you. You never know when a poem may flutter into your mind. I like going out to beautiful spots in Nature or left alone in my room. I also love to listen to uplifting, sacred music, which puts me into an altered frame of mind. My book, "Footprints Along the Shore of an Incoming Tide: Impressions of a Fellow Traveler," was written in such a manner.

Remove the judgment out of everything that comes. No censoring. Just allow. After all, it is the Messenger that is important, that Connection, not the words.

When your time with your Self is over, let the poem be. Then the next day go over it. It is here that you may do any editing that is needed, such as spelling, punctuation and such.

Why editing? As a teacher and parent I have learned that children need form in order to better manifest their formlessness. Poems are like children, born from intercourse with the Beloved. They too need good form; although, it may be a very different form than those in certain literary circles may declare. e.e cummings is a great example of going outside the box.

On the other hand, I love writing haiku, which is very limiting in its form. The fun part about writing in haiku is that it is a game of expressing something vast in a very limited form. It is like squaring the circle: bringing the circle of Heaven into the cube of matter.

It has to be your way in the end. Don't worry too much about writing the great inspirational poem. Just write. Be open.

And enjoy your time with the Self, the Beloved.

Inspirational Poetry: Nondualism Poems
Inspirational Poem: Enthusiasm
Inspirational Poem: Beyond the Beyond
Inspirational Poem: Freedom
Hafiz: Just Looking for Trouble--Wielding the Sword of Discrimination
Janaka's Inspirational Books: Words to Uplift and Reveal
Inspirational Quotes: Words of Wisdom
Inspirational Stories: Wisdom for the Journey
St. Francis Prayer and Commentary
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