Monday, March 19

Belated Sunday scribbling - inspiration


I went to a yoga and meditation day on the weekend. It was wonderful to spend a whole day practicing mindfulness and being in the moment. I learnt many new meditation techniques, including walking meditation which was wonderful. The teacher also read the following poem by Derek Walcott, and I felt such a wave of excitement and inspiration when I heard it.

Love after love
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott (1930-)

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh that's excellent. love it!

Vanessa said...

this is so powerful...
and just what I needed right now!
thank you
Vxxx

deedee said...

Thanks for sharing that poem, it is very inspiring.

Mrs. Spencer said...

an enchanting poem, it causes such a moment of self-reflection.

how nice to spend a day with yoga and meditation. good for you.

and i love your label - (poems not by me) it made me chuckle.

xoxo

gautami tripathy said...

Thanks for sharing this reflective poem.

gautami
Fillip

paris parfait said...

That's one of my favourite poems. Sounds like you had a wonderful day!

paris parfait said...

That's one of my favourite poems. Sounds like you had a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

Oh the first lines of that poem actually gave me goose bumps. Took me back to my ashram days.
Thanks for sharing,
Frances

daisies said...

oh that poem is incredibly inspiring ~ thank you so much for sharing that beautiful gift :)

hollibobolli said...

I love that poem. I'm going to share it with someone else. I think they will really enjoy it.

I'll be back for your SPC!

Anonymous said...

hi WG,
love the poem- is a new one for me.
I want to take yoga.
xxoo

Elspeth said...

Wow! Great Walcott poem!! I've never come across it. I also spent the weekend at a 4-day retreat (silent) and we did sitting and walking meditations three times a day. It was great. The Walcott poem reflects it all.

Anonymous said...

This poem made me cry, in a good way. It is so beautiful, and I'd never read it before. Thank you. :)

The more I practice it, the more I believe that yoga creates life and energy within us. And yoga teachers truly possess something special within them that they share with us.

Tammy Brierly said...

Wonderful poem so full of inspiration :)

Kamsin said...

Great poem, thanks for sharing it.