I never thought of
The ocean as tapestry
A blanket of moving surf
Until you mentioned
My blue-green fibers
Pattern and strong weave
But I’d always known waves
Were the key, a curve
To ride upon. That somehow
I’d be a sailor. And you,
All of you, would be
My seafaring companions
© Amanda Reilly Sayer, 2021
I can see Mars from my kitchen window Which sounds like it could be a metaphor, and probably is Except, I mean I can literally see Mars That red skinned beacon Out there. The speck that reminds me how small I am And also of how impossible things might be known First from a great distance. Then close up. But how do we get there from here? That is the question That keeps me up at night And while I’m awake, even half-asleep I figure, I might as well keep looking Because we never get there by not looking Over and out there, but also In here. And if we don’t want to go Someplace we’ve never been It might be important to know why not To understand whether we are afraid of green men Remnants of a cartoon we once saw Or something else Isn’t it funny how we give meaning to color Red states, blue states, people and planets As if we are still children learning to sort a giant crayon box Trying to make something so big Fit into our small hands We know so little for certain except that The universe is bigger than any one of us And we are hurtling through space at a speed we can’t match Mightn't it be prudent then To keep our options open To keep our hearts opener still To open up the too small box and smash the cardboard with our grown up feet? Maybe then, we’d be able to see What the container has keep from our view That we’ve made a very poor bargain for certainty And also. Maybe Mars With the friendly green "men" Is closer than we think © Amanda Reilly Sayer, 2020
The challenge now is to hold your flame high Without seeking to burn others It’s tempting, I know, to singe another on the way by Especially when you’ve clawed your way out of darkness And they have blocked your passage When you have been burned Near past the point of recognition You did not deserve that You did not ever deserve that But you are not the only one with scars And you must find within you the strength To be better than those who’ve hurt you Because you can and you are Not when you are set alight with vengeance But when you light the way for everyone If you want a new story You must allow for a new ending. In every hero’s journey ever told, There comes a time to re-know the enemy Because the enemy is who you become When you don’t use your light well When you can’t honor your history Without making it a weapon Know your anger and guard your wounds But do not succumb to hatred or bitterness Nor direct your rage inward No one is asking you to offer yourself as firewood And understand this: The way forward is now There is an opening now The darkness is lit with love © Amanda Reilly Sayer (November, 2020)
When the tide rises Speckled stones submerged beneath A high path appears © Amanda Reilly Sayer 2020
Embrace winds of change Cast aside fearful habits True love lives in you ©️Amanda Reilly Sayer
When night falls too fast Find the moonlight inside you Then watch the sun rise ©️Amanda Reilly Sayer, 2020
Dancing on the edge
Ready for that taut line pull
Maintaining balance
©️Amanda Reilly Sayer
In the hiatus of favored things
Pain evident in your gait and change of habits
We feared the worst, prepared for the end
Until suddenly, again, you trotted along the beach
Delighted in old crab shells and seaweed
Then later begged to climb into bed with us,
Something you’d not done for months
And earlier, chewed on a long discarded bone
Nestled between forgotten toys
Remnants of your younger days
These things seem small, maybe
But I know they are the sum of everything
Evidence of more living, less dying
And so it is, for all of us
Times of grace, even joy
Smiling into salty waves and leaning into the day
while knowing. That final day will come
© Amanda Reilly Sayer, 2019
If you liked this, you might enjoy an earlier poem about Chapin here.
Sometimes the notes
Play, almost
Without effort, other times
Fingers sore from repetition
Dissonance rules
With gnashing teeth
The Buddha said (maybe)
You must become empty, before
Being filled
And that is harder than it sounds
In this time when, doing more
Means doing well
But what if being well
Means simply being?
Allowing, the melody to emerge
©Amanda Reilly Sayer, 2019
*Note: I shared this particular painting with this poem because it was a painting that evolved easily, which isn’t exactly typical of my experience. As a painter (and writer), I am guilty of teeth gnashing effort and that is usually evident in the work, at least to me. To have a goal that is about not trying seems both counterintuitive and impossible, but I know this is a goal worth allowing, if not pursuing.
What say you?
Look
To the mirror
Of tide pools
Your true Self
Reflected
Fluid wave
Cloud in the wind
Marvel
At your return
And Know
Everything changes
Except
The eternal
Eternal You
© Amanda Reilly Sayer
Painting Poetry in Motion 