Poetry

Do Not Be Ashamed: Pictures and Poems

| melissakircher

DoNotBeAshamed

go ahead, look me in the eye

there’s nothing left to hide

burnished to a polished shine

turned dull

the ache

the ache

let the damn mirror break

 

do not be ashamed

 

we all have wounds

where the pain likes to play

a stranger, a soul

someone I didn’t know

not now what I behold

what I see is fire, passion

lightning gold

when thunder rolls

we planted a garden

under the gray

 

this day is dawning

bathed in moonlight

and night

is no longer the death knell

I may never understand

what it is that drives you

to see me burn

but what I see now

don’t look away

 

stay

 

a me, not perfect, but good enough

and where places rubbing rough

is what makes it all interesting

do not be ashamed

you are loved you are claimed

 

the is the me that was lost

 

oh how I love you

you are found

do not be afraid

do not be afraid

 

you are found

you are found

 

-Melissa Kircher

 

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: 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

| melissakircher

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