Give Me A Life

Give Me A Life

by R. Noelle

Give me a life and

I will take it and squeeze

every single moment out.

I will work until my last breath

making, building, dreaming

of my next inspiration.

I will stretch and push myself

bigger and deeper.

I will open into a giant bloom whose 

winter I will never see-

every moment spent in blossom.

Give me a mind and

I will fill it full of ideas,

until it overflows and empties

and I am left with only openness

 of thought,

until my beliefs and ideas run dry

and I can only listen

to the love that is 

seeping from my heart.

Give me a heart and

I will make it an open door

full of cracks,

heavy with years.

I will sing praises to my heart,

which allows me to grieve

and to love and

to hold life gracefully.

I will let it teach my mind

how to trust and 

how to give.

Give me a body and

I will bring it lovingly

along with me.

I will watch its changes and

marvel in its surprises

as my beautiful branches fall

into gnarled roots

and my eyes turn backward into

the mystery of my soul.

Give me a life because

I am not afraid to live it.

Give me a mind so 

I can overcome myself.

Give me a heart so

I can be touched by everything.

Give me a body so

that I am not afraid to bloom

and fade.

I am not ashamed of what 

I have been

nor afraid of what

I will be.

I am a human

following the path of my life,

every wrinkle, every pain,

every broken heart, every joy

an invitation to something

greater.

www.RNoelle.com

The Letting Go

The Letting Go

The letting go
comes in layers
of fighting, clinging
and holding tight.
There is misery in
the pressure that cracks
the shell
and anxiety in the feelings
 of change.

What we don't know
what to do with
we allow to sit
on our skin
like ice,
paralyzing us in a nightmare
and locking us
in darkness.

We hold still, waiting
for the suffering to
smooth away.
We thrash numbly,
looking for a place to
direct the storm.

Wait a night, a day,
a year.
Wait to feel different and new.
Watch and listen to
the wind, the world.
Try your best to love.

And then one day
the winter ends
and you find yourself
sprawled in the sun.
So many layers
have lifted
and the anxiety
 that became weariness
has settled into raw light.


R. Noelle

www.RNoelle.com

Into Tenderness

Writings from Santa Fe

Part II

by R. Noelle

When looking back on our history

and forward into unknown times,

I wonder why we can't seem to live

with level heads

and open arms.

I wonder how one person

can feel entitled to rule over another-

enslaving,

torturing,

murdering.

For belief,

for land,

for money.

For how many years can the earth

take our fatal footsteps?

Our huge greedy feet

smashing,

our desperate ugly hands

grasping.

How long can we cycle in chaos

before we kill each other

out of fear?

Before we destroy ourselves

with rage?

The sacred and the beautiful-

the gifts we were given

have become possessions to hoard,

while little ones disappear 

into concrete corners,

searching for an escape 

from the nightmares.

Those who are bright,

those who are lucky

make themselves at home like kings.

The slow, the shattered, the unlucky

spinning in the darkness,

waiting for death,

dreaming of freedom.

How long would we last if 

the world opened up?

If our minds were erased

and our borders lifted?

Would we turn straight to violence

and the need for control

or would we pause for a moment 

in reverence?

Would we set straight to work

claiming and dividing land

among the strong and powerful,

or would we bask in the wonder

of the home that we share?

Maybe we won't get another chance,

maybe we can't leave our past behind,

but must we always put our 

selfishness first?

Must we live so carelessly?

Must we build tiny broken lives

until we destroy everything living,

or will life 

one day

finally 

break humanity

into tenderness?

"The Scientist" by R. Noelle

Today I Heard the Wind

Writings from Santa Fe

Part One

by R. Noelle

Today I heard the wind

blowing across the land,

rustling nothing but itself.

I walked through lands 

swept away by flood.

Flattened trees and beach sand

everywhere in the forest.

I climbed into cliffs

sitting in ancient dwellings

like a child, pretending

I was safe in my home.

The calls of goats today

made me shutter,

Their indecent rattling 

turning my insides.

The peacocks slept in their trees.

Small yellow snakes

hopped across pebbles.

A bug fell into my shirt,

never to be found again.

Today I touched the soft 

cheeks of my children.

I searched for the in-between

of guidance and acceptance.

Like every mother who has walked this land,

I am empowered by my purpose.

With every dead and living thing I see,

I am reminded that everything I know

is only a season.

But in my own experience,

in my own short life,

I feel the bloom and fade of the flower

and the rushing power of the wind.

Today as I stand on the

sacred ground of ancient life,

I drop to my knees in gratitude

for this strong heart

for this fragile life.

For more poetry and paintings, please visit www.RNoelle.com