Tag Archive | poem

Tapestry of friendship

Aug14

Weaving bonds of friendship
Working on a beautiful tapestry
The tapestry that costs nothing to make
But is more valuable than many other things

It’s a life-long project
Sometimes I spend more time on it
It cheers my heart and uplifts my soul
I so love my tapestry
Different patterns for different periods of my life
Some of the colors are so rich
Occasionally I use threads of gold and silver
You can imagine how beautiful that can be

When I travel to the unseen world
It’s one of the few things I will take with me!

Lida berghuis
August 14th
Yokeh’s garden

Home visit

Aug8

Come into my home
Come into my life
Come into the space
I spend a lot of time

Bring your positive energy
Bring your smile
But if you are sad
You can still come

Maybe my smile will then
Brighten your day
And when I’m sad
You will smile my sadness away

Let’s have tea
Let’s sit and talk
Let’s connect
In this world of disconnect and rush

Let’s deepen our friendship
Deep as it can go
Let’s mine the gems
That are in me and you

These deep connections
Make life worthwhile
Otherwise in our worries
We will drown

You can be my life raft
And I can be yours
The sea can be stormy
And dangers close

In a world that can sometimes be dark
Let’s build friendship castles of light!

Lida Berghuis
August 7th, 2013

Words fail me!

Jul28

When words fail me
When silence is all I hear
When emotions stop the flow of words
When I’m overwhelmed by what I feel
My smile hides my anxiety
My mask is back on me
I’m back in my actress mode
I pretend that nothing is wrong
When in fact I’m falling apart…

Lida Berghuis
July 24th, 2013

Using my outside voice

Jul15

Girls and women have been told to use
Their inside voices for a long time
Men may scream and shout
And their roars of laughter
is somehow not met by surprise…
Girls on the other hand
Have to be demure
Soft spoken
And even suppress loud laughter
How dare they be loud?

Men can gesture and speak
At the top of their lungs
No one will tell them
They are out of bound
Girls however will be criticized
Or thought of as not refined

Of course, all of this is not surprising
Considering that not too long ago
Women could not leave the house alone
They needed protection
Or were they being controlled?

Not too long ago
Women could not vote
Or be elected to office
No wonder they were expected
To speak softly
Seen but not heard
If at all possible…

Women have made amazing strides
Since then
They now lead, set policy
Demonstrate for their rights
Then why are we frowned on
When we speak or laugh out loud?

I’ve decide I’m not going to wait
For permission from society
To use my outside voice
Some people may feel offended
I may get some strange looks
But that’s OK
Times have changed
And I have changed too!

Lida Berghuis
July 15th, 2013

No matter the circumstance!

Jun30

What makes us rich is our relationships…
A house, a car, a piece of jewelry
Can all be gone in an instant
But friendship remains no matter
The circumstance

A job can be lost
A career can take a down turn
But a friend will stay
No matter what

Storms come and go
And so will the crises of life
And what is the thing that gets us through
No matter the circumstance?

Not the material possessions we have
Our fancy job or
Our fancy house
It’s our friends
Who will give us
The gift of friendship and support
The gift of love and kindness
And a reason to hold on
Till the storm is gone!

Lida Berghuis
June 30th, 2013

*Inspired by a poem of Maya Angelou

It was what it was!

Jun24

It is what it is
It was what it was
Accept what is
If you can’t make it ‘was’

Accepting is not giving in
Is not giving up
Accepting is not fighting
When fighting does not give results

It is what it is
It was what it was
The past can’t be rewritten
And it need not!

Good experiences
Sad experiences
Make us who we are
Happiness, sadness
Part of life

It is what it is
It was what it was
It’s all good
And as it should be
March on!

Lida Berghuis
June 24th, 2013

Rumi’s wisdom

Jun17

We are the cup that floats on water
Water outside
Water inside

Gradually we drink our fill
The cup fills up

At that moment
The cup sinks and
The water inside
Joins the water outside

Is this annihilation
Or returning home
Is this he end
Or the beginning of freedom?

Lida Berghuis
Oct. 20th, 2011

Beautifully flawed!

Jun9

Why do I refuse to bandage an ankle that hurts?
Why do I refuse to acknowledge that it needs rest?
Why do I wish for the pain to go away on its own
Why don’t I listen to the signals my body sends?

Why do I forget so easily to rest?
Why do I forget that healing takes time?
Why haven’t I conquered the impatience in me?
But then again, why not?

We are all beautifully flawed!
We are slow to change
Slow to learn
And get set in our ways
I definitely do!
That doesn’t mean I’m not going to improve my ways
It means I’ll be gentle with myself when I make mistakes

The human condition requires that we err
Requires that we accept that we err
So, I acknowledge my mistakes
Don’t dwell on them too long
File them in my memory bank
And hope that I will remember next time

But somehow I have a feeling I may forget…
Learning is slow, it takes time!

Lida Berghuis
June 2nd, 2013

Coffee grounds 2

May28

Coffee grounds

Read me my fortune
Read my coffee grounds
It’s like looking for shapes in the clouds
There are dark splatters and light ones
There is bubbly foam
Dots and lines

Symbols hiding secrets
Splatters creating interesting designs
And all that in a coffee cup
Sitting in front of me
Begging for attention
From your eyes

No, I don’t think all that you will say
Will come true but
Read me my fortune
Just the same
Just for fun!

Tell me of the adventures I’ll have
The travels to come
Tell me where I’ll go first
And who will come

Tell me that I will manage
Navigating the trials of life
Tell me sunny days will always follow
Rainy ones

Tell me the joys of life
Will wash away the sorrows that come
Tell me things that I know
But like to hear one more time!

I know what I do
The path I take
Counts for a lot
I’m not a mere observer
In my own life

Nevertheless
Read me my fortune
Read my coffee cup
It’s right here and so are you and I

Lida Berghuis
May 28th, 2013

Castaway

May24

 

beach

“The castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little”*

Feeling depressed is similar to
being stranded on a boat in an ocean
with no land in sight

Every day is the same
The challenges are the same
The fears are the same
The limitations are the same
The questions are the same
Why am I here?
What happened?
How am I supposed to survive this?
Who is going to rescue me?
How long will this agony continue?
When will this nightmare end?

Floating on an ocean of negative thoughts
Dark clouds of hopelessness surround you
Sometimes it pours misery
Sometimes the heat of trials is unbearable
Sometimes you feel numb to all feeling
And all the while you wonder how to go on

The loneliness is intense
No one to console you
No guarantee that the rescuer
Will arrive in time
Or that you will find your way
Out of this maze
Sometime

The mistake is to rely on hope only
To choose patience over action
To count the days
Till someone comes

The mistake is to think
That the only thing that brings you joy
Is the sight of land

Salvation lies in realizing that
Some of the answers lie within you
Your actions will determine your fate
Praying is appropriate
But so is taking a stand!

Salvation is in problem solving
When no solution seems to come to mind
Salvation is in not giving up
No matter how many times
What you thought may work proves wrong
Salvation is in taking small steps each day
Steps to help you stay afloat a little longer

It’s no picnic
No walk in the park
But giving up is not an option
Persistence and action is the answer
To finding a way out!

Lida Berghuis
May 24th, 2013

*Life of Pi