Poetry

Pictures and Poems: History Lessons

| melissakircher

HistoryLessons

this crazy world
with its mountains and molehills
and butterfly wings
that beat so gently
while I scroll past the latest jarring atrocity
this crazy life
in a whirl of twenty-four-seven
threads and streams
voices speaking that should be
silent
rally cries that go
unheard
I find it hard to remember things like
evening walks
cocoa from scratch
a long, hard run
my feet carry me past burning bushes
where I should stop and rest
and ruminate
on the magnificence of my cells
I contain the universe
billions of years old
in my bones
this crazy world
where both grit and glory
exist in the pause between inhale and exhale
of miraculous air

History Lessons

-Melissa Kircher

In response to the Kaitlin Curtice interview on The Deconstructionists Podcast.

Pictures and Poems: Nora’s Laugh

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Laughterthere is this deep laugh you do
when unconcerned with anything but
the absolute delight of the moment
it’s not pink
or sparkly
it doesn’t wear a tiara
or wait for a prince
guttural, from your belly
blue eyes alight
you laugh
like a middle-aged trucker
or a tipsy Irishman finishing his punchline
when you laugh like this
awash in pure essence
fully yourself
not girl
not daughter
just you
I know God exists
and that we are meant to find this world
hilarious.

Nora’s Laugh
-Melissa Kircher

To purchase a print of “Laughter” visit Melissa Kircher Artwork at www.society6.com

Pictures and Poems: Together Live Tour

| melissakircher

 

InTheValley.jpg

stay

anchor in the depths

every drop in the ocean

sings for your presence

here

now

abide in the valley

where the air is thick and the river runs deep

where life and death intermingle

stay

rest

for you will have time on the heights

where the air is thin and the sun hot on your shoulders

the path winding down again before you

as you travel back

to the pain and unknowing and gut-twisting growth

the valley is night

the valley is ocean

the valley invites you to stay, anchor where the grass is green, the dirt, dirty

the water singing your soul home

when you stay

you learn

who you are

“Stay” -Melissa Kircher

 

img083

I think poetry

might be inside you

I think the words

have always been there

ready to tumble from hesitant lips

I think the stars shine only for you tonight

and the earth turns

to keep you on it

I think I love you

though I don’t

know you half as much as I should

but I have this feeling that there is poetry inside you

the ineffable everlasting

sitting on the cusp of your tongue

and heart

and fingertips

take a chance

on yourself

“Poetry” -Melissa Kircher

 

Pictures and Poems: Lioness

| melissakircher

Lionessshe is standing in front of three hundred people

pure energy zinging through her bones

she ducks her head under the wave of a pain swell

only to be met with a wall of water

on the other side

she is trembling, sweating hearing no

and she takes it

she is what roars from the ashes of an agony-charred heart

lightning strikes and her muscles coil—taut

ready to warrior spring

she is learning to pad softly through the thicket

to move in tune with the breath of the air

she is beauty

she is strength

she is a woman finding her voice

only to die to it

she is the village elder who has seen a thousand battles

and finally

finally

understands when to fight and when to tread carefully

like a huntress, and listen

“Lioness” -Melissa Kircher

Pictures and Poems: The Lines of the Landscape

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TheLinesoftheLandscapethe lines of the landscape are

soft and rounded

dewdrops dripping gently off crystal encrusted leaves

they are undulating hills of green and

cresting white waves

the lines are harsh, sometimes

jagged rock jutting out of earth

dead sticks snapping crisp underfoot

the lines draw us in

they ask us

is all of this, all of us, all of everything

deep and raw and beautiful?

the lines beckon

inward

to the landscape of beats and blood

could we find brilliance there?

and could the light that changes things

change you?

your friend?

your enemy?

could the beautiful, breathtaking landscape of your heart be

the very thing needed

in this uncertain hour

-Melissa Kircher

 

*Art and writing inspired by the On Being Podcast with the late poet, John O’Donohue

Pictures and Poems: Boundaries

| melissakircher

Boundariesthere is me

a flame

me is a deep fire, burning

capable of holding space for great, gulping pain

I cry out to the night sky with wonder eyes, “Look at all the stars!”

my fire needs a cozy home

one whose walls I’ve built

not to keep everyone out,

but to protect against sharp gusts of wind

you know who you are

or maybe, you have no idea

either way

parts of the walls are hard and unyielding,

others soft and porous

I thought a long time about building my house

until one day there was no other way to live

my fire was a flicker

and to love myself I had to figure out how bricks and stone and leaves and sticks might

fit together for a while.

you might never be allowed in.

or I might invite you for tea sometime

some of you will build your own houses

these are the best kind of people

then we each leave and meet somewhere

together, out in the glorious day

but this is my house

this is me inside

the flame that I won’t let go out

I’m sorry

and I’m not

“Boundaries” -Melissa Kircher