BODYPSALMS

“Firefall” by Dobee Snowber

And in all this ~
shadows and light still dapple
in the sky, the river
keeps going, effortlessly
faithful to its source
and destination

so how can you and I
keep on our path
stay true to our original question
the call to be deeply alive
responsive to what is given
on this exquisite planet
in such difficult times
fraught with destruction and disaster

so choose YES
to what we deeply know
embedded in our cells
there is a soft sky within us
glimmering with colour
may it rise to the surface
and echo com/passion
with passion, being with all
held in the sentences of our skin.

Acer Davidii Bark in the UBC Botanical Garden

A found poem from Hildegard of Bingen’s words in the 12^th c.

Your light cannot be contained by space
You are a shadow of the Living Light
no depth, height, or breadth can hold you

You hold us, radiant one
I shutter in your midst

Veriditas

awakening and greening
all that lives
glittering, glistening, luminous
You stir everything into quickness
dying and rising in everyday life
Here is Fecundity

You are
a fiery life in the essence of God
the flame above the beauty in fields
You shine in the waters
burn in the sun, moon, stars

What a miracle
to be awake
inside your breathing.

May we be kissed
by you
in our innermost regions.

You don’t need to travel thousands of miles
to access the wild place
within and without you
fierce and tender are always within you.

Open up the windows
of your hips and home
And let spiritus rush through the salt and sweat
river, mud, and winds of your body’s terrain.

Dance in the rain and tears of your heart
wander in the joy rushing through your veins
and know here is the wild landscape
of sighs and silences.

There are a thousand epiphanies
waiting at your feet
be curious in the midst of your own becoming
and draw near to the infinite.

Write out of the mundane
mud, magic and mystery.
JUST WRITE
Spread the ink of your skin
and wear gestures and words as accessories.

Know your muse is waiting for you
and been here all along
Here is the time of the great ripening.
.

“You CAN have it all”  by Dobee Snowber

Call back your body to the page
the pulse, breath and passion
residing in your cells
sitting on your skin
waiting to come forth
from pores to words

Know each sensation
is syllables of the belly
even agitation is a comma
each heartbeat is the rhythm
yearning to articulate
through the muscles of your fingers

Let physicality take you
to the studio within
where stories are ancient and primal
and love them all into being
here lies the hymns of your body
pronouncing themselves
to respect each flutter and fragrance of your senses

This is more than common sense
but body sense
the paints for your canvas
notes for your song
movements for your dance
bold creation awaits
you are your body
and your body wants a voice.

Photo “Infinite Embrace” by Wendy Wagner

You are being held
in a wider embrace
one more ancient
than your own understanding

There is a knowledge
beneath knowing
a perception beneath perceiving
older than the stars
is primordial presence
undergirding your roots

You are being guided
more than you comprehend
more than your eyes can see
your heart can grasp

Trust in the essence of things
beneath the bare beauty
of light and dark
and know
the Great I Am
is with you.

Full Size Render by Dobee Snowber

Living boldly cannot be contained
presence asks to be listened to
drawn, danced, desired
in the cracks of life
if one waits to create ~
time will be finite

Seize the moment
for each second calls forth new colors
textures and poems, songs and stories
to break forth from the splits
in our busy schedules
of comings and goings, pick ups and drop offs,
emails and calls & important agendas

Create in the now
in small beauties
where ten minutes can transform a day
a turn of the heart towards art
is all it takes to see
again for the first time
and hear symphonies in birdsong
movements in waterfall

The pulsing body within you
asks for new hues in your life
break open the oranges and purples
celebrate green and yellows
let scars be imprints of soul
interruptions be compositions of wonder

Create in the cracks
and here lies words and worlds
the autobiography of clouds
formations of spirit
split into
one more possibility.

Icon Spacer by Dobee Snowber

What will be extracted

is no longer serving you

it has had its season

and needs a replacement

 give way to a new knee or hip or organ

even if it is metal it is sewn inside you

with a sculptor’s precision.

Infinite beauty resides in your body

wear and tear creates havoc with mobility

you are now offered a new knee

kneel to this new becoming and making

and know the short pain

will be a window into freedom

you are being recreated

with a new collage of materials

Release your old knee ~

who has held you for a very long time

and danced you into oceans of life

Bend into repair and rebirth

and let go into the unknown

where you will be remade

from the inside out.

Shadow Play
by Dobee Snowber

there are worlds beyond the one
you live in
beneath you in the magma
beside you in the wind
inside you in dreams

layers exist within the archaeology
of your heart’s knowing
sometimes it only takes a drop
of truth which resonates
to remember there is another way

where the answer to issues
is not another meeting
or change of direction, drive or data
but a turning to the inward pool of
I N T U I T I V I A
an intuitive’s call

the researcher may look for data
but there is a data of the body
spiritsongs of the cells
beckoning the child in you
to come alive

there is a physical core one needs to stand
but an internal core
will light you through the shadows
break you into humility
and glow beyond
what is known

“Burst 1 by Dobee Snowber”

Remember back the body
flames in the belly
calling one to live
as each day is the first and the last
Your life is a precious
entity of cells and blood
quirks and sentences of glory

Remember back the passion
don’t let the awe
slip from your fingers
toes, hips, pelvis and voice
Draw back into presence your own calling
for what you are meant to do and be
on this glorious planet
coupled with the paradox of terror and beauty

It is not only the earth
which needs greening
but your own precious soul
sometimes lost in the meetings, emails or laundry.

“Door Revised 1” by Dobee Snowber

Remember back all of you
messy and unpredictable
veins pulsing with a hopefulness
to thirst for more.
Hunger is your spiritual director
Coming in all forms –
discontent or agitation

Press on to what is nudging you
breathing you back into
inhabiting your own body

The calling of your life
lies at the door
waiting for you.

“Something about Fish and Bicycles”  Dobee Snowber

There is the pace of external circumstances
and then the pace of your internal life
running through you
at a different speed
calling you to attention
to linger in a time
where you catch the twilight
pouring into your window
and ride the heartbeat
of your own path

What would it mean to stop
the madness of rushing
or answering every email
in record time or finding the answer
to all the questions

What ever happened
to remaining in the questions
going for a bicycle ride
without a destination
swimming for the sake of swimming
questioning for the sake of questioning
and loving the process
of just breathing and living
without the answers?

Honor the tiny shifts
in a life where magic unfolds
incrementally and slowly
take kindness to your heart
and choose to relish in
L I N G E R I N G
in the questions.