Poem of the Week ~ Broken Angel

Kids, it was late and I was tired and heading for bed, when this poem by Lorna Cahall of her blog by the same name, 

reeled me in and made me catch my breath in wonder. Check it out. It's this week's Poem of the Week: 

Broken Angel

There is a crack, a crack in everything. 

That's how the light gets in. 

Leonard Cohen

Your baby's breath rests

in a cracked crystal vase

against the frosted pane. 

The color of your sacrifice is white. 

You are our way through

the tormenting wilderness.

You, the broken one, offer 

us our Resurrection. 

And all your angels come

bruised and broken, they come

together, an ocean of salt tears 

and holy mineral healing. 

They will all rise up in you, 

through you and we will all 

find our angels with you, 

through you, together.

written for an anthology that seeks submissions
responding to violence against women

Lorna, thank you for this most beautifully written poem about the rising spirit of women, who together heal from abuse and bind up each others' wounds. And thank you for your faithful contributions to Poets United.

Life of a Poet - Lorna Cahall

Kids, this week we're zipping down to Oregon, one of my favorite states, to visit with Lorna Cahall, about whose poetry a review on Amazon states her poems " reveal the author's reaching for personal wholeness through the metaphors found in nature and experience." The reviewer continues, "She constructs a spiritual pathway through...our longing for unity with a greater whole." So you can see why I was drawn to finding out more about this member of our poetic community. Come sit by me. Sun is heading towards sunset, iced tea is awaiting us, and we are about to embark on a very interesting journey through this poet's life.

Poets United: Lorna, I am so happy to be sitting down with you. Would you set the scene for us, a little?

I Wish I'd Written This

White Wind
by Lorna Cahall

A strong wind is mothering the trees
nuzzling the dusty leaves,
cleaning their ears. She feels like
a white tiger mother whose lullaby
sweeps deeply into my memory of home.
There is no going back now.
Even the hawk is carried unresisting
to wherever this huge gentleness
wills her to go.


I love this both for what it says and the music of the saying. But there are many other poems by this poet which I might have chosen; I'm a big fan and I'd love to have written practically anything and everything of hers.

You may well know Lorna's work already, as I see she is a member of Poets United. Just in case you haven't discovered her yet, here is her blog.

I first encountered her on facebook during a month when several people wrote 'moon reflections' every night during the cycle from one full moon to the next. Her exquisite work thrilled me. As the above is short, here is one of her moon poems as well:


Archaeology

The full moon's light
dazzles,
we howl with coyote,
go mad with love.
When more and more
is sliced away,
the dance changes.
It is only the darkness
that can speak, like music,
straight through to the soul's
primal shores.


The link at her name, above, takes you to a website about her books, with some of the poems from them. And here is her page at Amazon, with all her books available — not all of them poetry.

Just a little P.S., noting that yesterday's Think Tank was on the subject of labyrinth — Lorna has a great interest in this topic too, as you will find if you explore her website!

Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).