Every November I begin to create stories inside. Except for going into the woods to tip balsam and making wreaths I never know what else I might decide to do, but by the time I have finished I know what the images are saying! This is a poem about the stories I created this year. With the silence of winter soothing me I begin this kind of play without awareness and without a goal…I love this idea of story being told through image.
Holy Silence; Winter Joy
Golden light
cascades
down the mountain.
Fire ignites
Winter Joy.
In the Holy Silence
of December
my house becomes
a prayer.
Bursting with gratitude,
I walk from one story
to another…
Bless this sleeping Earth
I pass by my
woodland berried garden.
Celebrate Evergreens.
Two Norfolk Island Pines
watered for love of every tree.
Polish the Pomegranate –
to honor all women
Spiral around Passionflowers
whose tendrils seek winter light
Love these Animals!
By loving dogs and bears
ever more deeply,
I learn to love myself
Animals, all Beloved.
Body too…
Botticelli’s Madonna
followed me thru Italy
she was in me from
the beginning
cloaked in Blue
my real mother too.
Gifted me with cousins.
Birthed a grandmother.
Welcomed in a stranger.
Gave me back a brother.
I leave a basket of seeds
and fruits
at her feet.
Roses too.
Spheres of dusty pink flowers
mirror Nature’s seasonal rounds.
My dove coos in triplets,
chiming clocks
echo Grandmothers’
Call…
I tip and weave
Sweet Balsam
into wreath
after wreath
conjuring Wholeness
out of all that is broken.
Circles of Hope
embrace me.
At night
my nose touches a pillow –
Inhaling pinenes*
so steeped in scent
I fall asleep.
* Pinenes are a kind of terpene that all conifers possess. Examples: pine and fir, Pinenes in particular are natural bronchodilators and all are air purifiers… Balsam is particularly effective as the latter.
Pinene has many potential benefits. It can act as an anti-inflammatory, promotes pain relief and relaxation, aids in memory and respiratory function, and may reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses (anti-viral and bacterial).
The Gift of Silence is the Ground for Gratitude
BIO
Sara is a naturalist, ethologist (a person who studies animals in their natural habitats) (former) Jungian Pattern Analyst, and a writer. She publishes her work regularly in a number of different venues and is presently living in Maine.
feminismandreligion.com 
I love this idea of being surrounded by images that tell stories, almost like a storytelling circle. We are all surrounded by stories in our everyday lives that we just don’t pay attention to, I think. Your post has made me more aware of that! Thank you!
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yes we are surrounded by stories and many of them are awful – so creating a house of stories is helpful and brings me great pleasure…. I started doing this totally unconsciously – and the results stayed unconscious until??? I have a penchant for images – think and dream in them so it makes sense – thanks Carolyn
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Nice points, we are the stories we tell. I wonder how much our stories shape us and how much we shape our own stories. I’ve actually been playing with the concept in my own life quite a bit. How can change a bad story and make it into one we can live with? Is that part of the healing process?
I like that you don’t have a goal when you start out with your stories, it feels like to gives you the freedom to explore and expand your story-telling.
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I love your questions Janet. They are important ones. I don’t know id we can change a bad story into a good one – I haven’t been able to but I think its possible to change the focus….I’ve been thinking about that too… this play is another aspect altogether. I’m used to being outdoors and when comes I am bringing nature to life within – how i do this is always a surprise because I have no goal beyond weaving those wreaths…
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