Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Guest poet.

Two gorgeous poems by Tina Karagulian.

Community

I imagine
that during the genocide,
my grandmother
walked on hot sand,
lost and betrayed
by her neighborhood community,
wondering how
this came to pass.

I imagine
that in her daze,
she could not see,
a community
of animals in the desert,
walking beside her,
peeking up at her,
sending her encouragement
and strength.

I imagine
a band of angels,
encircling her,
ministering
to her broken heart.

I imagine
God’s tenderness
shining
amid brutal acts.

I imagine
that for every community
that denies a soul,
many more communities
scramble to retrieve,
to nurture,
and to mend
its severed remnants.
And as it comes together,
piece by piece,
we begin to see
the woven threads
of so many loves ones
smiling upon us.
When we see them,
we realize that they have always
been with us,
that they have always
sustained us.
We come full circle—
yet it never ends,
rippling out,
melting into,
the vastness

we
imagine.


See-faring

I came from the sea,
much like Aphrodite
in a tumble of wave,
unseen amid the foam;
it rose up,
and I could feel no ground.
Carried into
the brine
of a bigger Mother,
who claimed me
as Her own,
once more I tumbled,
mingling breath
with salt,
until I was spit up,
baptized through and through,
by the waters
of my Living God.
My heart remembers
my emergence:
my skin became supple,
my eyes revealed new sight.
I was remade,
whole.
I tasted a promise
of sustenance
until I am,
once again,
submerged,
reunited,
into the salted wine
of My Beloved.

Labels:

9 Comments:

Anonymous Teresa said...

Amazing, and something I really needed to read tonight.

12:56 AM  
Blogger murat11 said...

Teresa: Glad they were here for you to read.

6:15 AM  
Blogger Dee Martin said...

I'm with Teresa. Needed these. they are truly gorgeous and I'm so glad they are here. These were a bandaid to a funky, petty, slightly overwhelming, bad week. Thank you Tina! I love the community of animals in the desert walking beside her and the line "I could feel no ground". Well, I loved all of it but those were my favorites :)

6:20 AM  
Anonymous Tina Karagulian said...

Teresa, Thank you. I believe I have needed to write these family events in a new way. The challenge is to tell our stories with a fresh slant, stories in which we have seen in one light for far too long. I know for me it has taken quite some time to do just that. :) T

10:42 AM  
Blogger Tammie Lee said...

my goodness, both of these are divine.
your words have carried me to a depth of life that is tender, rich and quiet. You have a way with words, a gifted way.

2:07 PM  
Blogger anno said...

These are beautiful, a gorgeous texture of repeated lines and internal rhymes; helped quiet my unsettled mind. Thanks for sharing these.

8:42 AM  
Blogger murat11 said...

Anno: I agree with your take on these poems. I think of Tina as a poet more in your elegant, soulful league, rather than part of my tribal madness.

10:53 AM  
Blogger Teresa said...

Tina, I'm so glad you did the retelling in your new light. The poems are very powerful.

6:15 PM  
Anonymous Tina Karagulian said...

I am honored by all your comments. Each of you is so gifted in your writing; don't underestimate how you each help us all process our archetypal moments. TK

1:21 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home