Arise

ARISE

Tell me who I am.

Imaginary words form, but catch

in my throat; they drown

waiting for your consent.

My lover spoke and said to me,

“Arise my darling,

my beautiful one, and come with me.”

 

Comfort me. My sagging eyes

and spine are old,

contorted like a trapped animal. Mostly,

heal my hate

with your fleeting luxury.

See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

is heard in our land.

 

I am not unlike a child, wilting

in the thick air,

looking for your sign of relief.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their

fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.

 

This poem was written and contributed by a graduate of my class.  She has given me permission to post this on my blog along with her essay that follows. It is her description of what it is like to have experienced a relationship in which she ended up realizing she was being used by the man she speaks of here.

 

I became what I hated. I gave up my power waiting for a man to tell me who I was.
Sure, I had an idea, but thoughts are just thoughts until they are validated.

The insatiable craving for validation and comfort led me down a difficult but worthy road of sifting through the true desires of my heart.

As women, it is paramount we understand our vulnerability. It is a beautiful trait; one we must have to be able to love. We cannot keep our hearts in a jar, starve it, and ignore the allure of our most precious quality. Understanding our vulnerability involves knowing who we are, where we came from, and where we are headed. When we know our worth and intricacies of our innermost places we can take refuge in this knowledge.

Acting on this knowledge and understanding becomes the testament to our worth. It is this action that brings freedom, stillness, and healing. It’s not grand sweeping gestures or epiphanies that lead us there; it’s the teeny tiny choices we make that build on each other over time allowing us to recover what we have lost. In the end, giving peace and a hope to sustain us.