Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Joy (Poem)

                  Joy

I stake my joy
        not in wanderings

in your or somebody else's dreams
        nor in busy half-thoughts crowding

spaces where I rail or mean
        to be, but in the embrace
 
of my unfinished shadow
        reminding me that to watch

listen, and unhand old fears
        is to breathe out the blessing

that begins and ends
        in the alleluia I deserve to hear.

© 2010 Maureen E. Doallas. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________


This poem is for the Tuesday, May 4, Blog Carnival sponsored by Bridget Chumbley at One Word at a Time and Peter Pollock of Rediscovering the Church.

The Blog Carnival is a biweekly online event open to anyone. Participants write on a one-word prompt or topic. This week's is "joy".

Go here for a list of links  to all of the contributions, which are posted throughout Tuesday and often through to the end of the week.

The Blog Carnival's FaceBook page is here.

14 comments:

Louise Gallagher said...

You made my heart sing this morning.

What a joyful sound!

Jenne' R. Andrews said...

Exquisite poem, Maureen. I absolutely love what I keep thinking of as a cascading of your lines toward completion of the poem. This poem is very whole, and filled with light-- brava! xj

Anonymous said...

i am hearing the words today...

listen,
and unhand old fears

S. Etole said...

"in the embrace of my unfinished shadow ..." beautiful

Glynn said...

And you deserve to hear that alleluia because you are made in His image and He made you to hear it. Beautiful poem, Maureen.

Anne Lang Bundy said...

to breathe out the blessing ...

(my favorite line)

Russell Holloway said...

unfinished shadows ... I like that a lot.

JoAnne Bennett said...

thought-provoking poem Maureen. I especially liked your verses below.

"listen, and unhand old fears
is to breathe out the blessing"

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog.

JoAnne

Kathleen Overby said...

I was waiting to exhale softly throughout. Simply lovely in structure, nuance, and essence.

Monica Sharman said...

Ahh, this part:

"nor in busy half-thoughts crowding

spaces where I rail or mean
to be,"

Anonymous said...

Lovely words, Maureen. Thank you.

Diane Walker said...

I really really like this one -- and it turns out to be a perfect response for a friend who is learning she needs to be responsible for her own joy. Thank you!

Tricia said...

Very pretty.

caryjo said...

Very thoughtful.