London...

Since Jess, Steph and I are off to London tomorrow (with the Shadow Mountain drama club), I thought I'd leave one of my favorite Shakespeare quotes...

"Love all,
trust a few.
Do wrong to none."
- William Shakespeare

old souls and poets

I googled a thought tonight (about the future of poets) forgetting that it came from an old soul who feels like a kindred spirit. After taking a moment to read through a body of lyrics that I enveloped myself in almost 10 years ago, I realized how much these ideas are now embedded in who I am.

I don't think we fully realize the power of music... of lyrics... and of the poet...

...and this thought resonates with me
even deeper than it did back then...

"Too many kingdoms
Too many flags on the field
So many battles, so many wounds to be healed
Time is relentless
Only true love perseveres
It's been a long time and now I'm with you
After two thousand years"

-Billy Joel

broken...

yet whole...

Vittoria...

I stumbled on the words of one of my favorite poets, Vittoria Colonna, tonight, and was surprised at how beautifully she articulated the very thoughts I had today. Its so encouraging to find a kindred spirit, even if our lives are a couple centuries and a half a world away from each other....

I have had a good dream--a beautiful
hand untied the knots pressing in on my
heart, cut away the ancient scars, leaving
not a trace of damage, and led me from

false images heaped up over the years,
mistakes which were all too evident.
My mind clears, and I'm no longer haunted
by regrets, anxieties whose sweet fruits

were but more bitterness. Lightning never
split clouds with a crack so sudden, so violent.
The veil parted, and I felt sound once more.

I felt a hand re-form me as I prayed,
the hand that made that sky so gentle that
my heart trembles still--with joy and wonder.

-- Vittoria

spirit. servanthood. hope.