Tag Archive | Poetry

School of Mom…

Oct18

 

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Mothering is one of the best schools in life
Patience, selflessness, being organized
Being flexible, being inventive, and being kind
Only a few things taught in this school of life
Endurance, problem solving, and creativity are other ones

One has to meet many challenges head on

When I thought I could not wake up again
To a crying child
When problems used to confound me
And I had tried all I could try
I learned to persevere
To problem solve
To open my heart

But eventually I felt burnt out
Because I was last on my to-do-list
And the first to be crossed out due to lack of time
Because I didn’t know the importance of caring for myself
Because I confused it with selfishness

Eventually it occured to me
That to be a good caregiver
I needed to care for myself
I needed an avenue for self expression
I needed a creative outlet

And I realized that
There will never be enough time
There are always things to be done
And that I needed to be an non-negotioable item
On my to-do-list
Not one that woud be crossed out

It’s counter-intuitive but it works
Because when I take care of myself
I can be a better mom!

Lida Berghuis
October 15th, 2013

The maze of love!

Oct17

The Rubix Cube
The most intricate jigsaw puzzle
The most challenging maze
All of these cannot compare to the puzzle of love!

The puzzle of love
A living maze
It changes and expands when least expected
Twists are added at whim it seems
While it was complicated to begin with!

The puzzle of love
Not for the faint of heart
Not for those who are not willing to get lost
In the desert of love!

The puzzle of love
About which stories are told
And poems are written
From the time of old

The puzzle of love
The eternal quest
For the heart that accepts the challenge
And makes a start

I was never fascinated
By the Rubix Cube
Or intricate jigsaw puzzles
Of many hues

But I am most intrigued by
The puzzle of love
This living maze
This ultimate challenge of the heart

Lida Berghuis
April 13th, 2004

Nostalgia

Oct14

 

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The scent of saffron and rosewater
Reminds me of my Persian past
The busy streets of the bazaar
The veil-clad ladies
Bargaining for the best price
The tree-lined streets of Shiraz
The entrance gate
Darvazé-Quoran

The garden of our house
Where the weeping willows cried
The large dining room
Where many a guest dined

The American school I went to
Where East met West
And my heart was won

Where the language
And culture of the West
Opened my eyes
To another reality
In a land far off

Where I experienced
The richness of diversity
And a door was opened
That could not be shut

And so it was, that gradually
There grew a yearning
In my heart
To know those lands
To experience freedom

Freedom from religious prejudice
Freedom of thought
Freedom to express myself
And not be afraid to talk

Many days have passed
Since those days in Iran
I have called many cities home
I have laughed
I have cried

I have experienced the freedom I longed for
But as I think of my sisters and brothers
In Tehran and Shiraz
I hope that they too
Will soon taste
The sweet savor
Of freedom

Lida Berghuis
Sept. 11th, 2003

Heart to heart!

Oct8

Talking heart to heart!
Listening, really listening to someone else!
We don’t do it often enough
Small talk takes up a lot of our time
Real concerns and worries
Are buried deep inside

Then once in a while
We open our heart to someone else
And talk about what really matters

That requires trust
And being able to be vulnerable
Letting our guard down

It seems it’s hard to be our real selves most of the time
Instead we hide behind a beautiful smiling facade
Instead we put on the “All is OK” mask
Instead we bury what really matters deep down

But then there are those rare moments of honesty
Of being our authentic selves
When pretense disappears
When we speak from the heart
When we feel in close connection with another soul
The barriers having come down

Those moments are precious
Those are the conversations that heal us
Change us, and make us feel really alive!

Lida Berghuis
October 9th, 2013

The other D-word!*

Oct6

Death may not be an uplifting topic to some
But I think it does actually uplift us
Up out of this physical plane
Which despite our attachment to it
Does cause us much sorrow and pain
Up out of this world
Where we struggle to choose good over evil
And upon our death
Our spirit is released from its physical limitations
And like a bird flies out of its golden cage

Death is a continuation of this life
I prefer the concept of life after life
But perhaps our spirit will be in a more developed state

The dream world is a sign of the existence
of realms beyond this realm
Where we can communicate with those who
Have arrived there first

Perhaps we fear death
Because we fear annihilation
But what if death is the release of our spirit
From its material form
And its continued existence in a higher state!

Lida Berghuis
October 6th, 2013

*The first one being Depression
which I wrote a poem about earlier!

The gift of calamity

Oct1

“In the path of the Blessed Beauty, I have experienced but little adversity… I pray that I will be given the opportunity to attain the gift of calamity in His path!”
Dr. A. M. Davudi

“The gift of calamity”
What does this phrase imply?
What does it mean?

Perhaps the lover of Truth is so intoxicated
With the wine of the love of God
That calamity in His the path
Is seen as a gift!

To see calamity as a gift
Requires deep faith
And the letting go of self and ego!

When one is released from the prison of self
Imprisonment will seem like freedom
Freedom from the desires of the insistent self

When one is released from the prison of self
Fear leaves and contentment pitches its tent

When one is released from the prison of self
Anger and injustice can be met with kindness and generosity

When on is released from the prison of self
There is nothing one can’t achieve

The Beloved is the focus
His will reigns supreme
One’s comfort and ease
One’s wishes and dreams
Take second place to His wishes
He who wants nothing but
The illumination of that soul
The development of his capacities
The polishing of the mirror of his heart
And the appearance of the gems of virtues

When one is released from the prison of self
One dies to the world
One becomes dust in the pathway of the Beloved
One only wants to serve and love others
Now and all through eternity

Lida Berghuis
October 1st, 2013

Solitary hours

Sep25

 

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I sit in solitude
My mind roaming in a world
That is here, but is not
It’s close to us
But it can be far

Silence brings me there
Reflection guides me there
Inspiration is found there
Serenity resides there

It’s like roaming in a rarified atmosphere
Examining reality
Listening to the voices within

It’s like opening a gateway
To a different world
A magical world
A mystical world

And these wonderings are so liberating
So intoxicating
So addictive
That they call me back each day
Lest my day not be spent
Even if it’s momentarily
In that world of mystery

Lida Berghuis
September 25th, 2013

Rendezvous!

Sep12

Another fall, another season, another day
Another rendezvous at my place of calm
A rendezvous with myself and my thoughts!

This is what brings balance into my life
This is what nourishes my soul
This is what cheers my heart!

My daily rendezvous
To contemplate
To go only where quiet can take me
Where silence is the guide
Where words appear
Seemingly out of nowhere
Where I feel refreshed
After saying my piece
To who I’m not sure of
But what I am sure of
Is that this rendezvous is now necessary
Not optional!
It centers me
It relaxes me
And I’m even content not to know why!

Lida Berghuis
September 12th, 2013

My diary

Jul23

My poems are my diary
What I’m thinking about goes in there
What I’m reading inspires them
The questions I have are stated there
The things I’ve learned are recorded there
My highs, my lows, my serious and silly moods
Are reflected in them

Like a diary
They are dated
Like a diary
They are re-read later

Pages and pages
Notebooks and notebooks
My notebooks make
A colourful tower on my shelf
The covers are different and varied
Reflecting the variety I seek in life
Some are smaller
Some bigger
Like the different chapters
In my life

But collectively
This sea of words
Represents me
My spirit
My mind
My emotions
My thoughts
My hopes
My dreams

And that’s why
My poems are my diary!

Lida Berghuis
May 26th, 2013