Clouds, Attic & Hearth Chapter 3: Rest in Pain
Refurbishing an oldie...imagining evening conversations between the spirit, mind, and heart via whispered poems—perfect for bedtime.
If you missed Chapters 1-2, they’re linked here! More about the series here. :)
I recommend listening to this poem alongside the beautiful playlist above! Read more about NATURE becoming an official artist on Spotify, Apple Music, etc. below:
A short one today because I’m struggling to write this week. Before my poem, please read these first:
I was deeply moved by Cole Arthur Riley’s words:
Inhale I feel Exhale I move Inhale My soul is disturbed Exhale because it’s still intact
I feel that these beautiful words, by the brilliant Bayo Akomolafe, will move you as they did me.
Please also consider this post:
How is it possible to rest while my flame blisters beyond the boundaries of the fireplace? I'm crackling uncontrollably as my flames gather heat & spread across the stacked logs meant to smother me. -Hearth sputtered. How is it possible to rest while my wood sprays splinters from swelling? My beams & boards will break if they become too warm with moisture. Hearth may accidentally consume them. -Attic groaned. We ache. I feel it too, as though I've been shredded by violent finger-combing; all that I need to release is ribboned across the sky in thin, veiny threads, slicing my ability to weep. -Clouds whispered. So what do we do? -Attic asked. We feel the rage, tension, and sorrow. And we rest in what we feel. Repair is not turning away or escaping. But we feel urgency—the crisis—we want to use our energy right now. -Hearth burned. Patience. Rest parallels with interpreting artwork—we must gather enough of it to be able to do the necessary work of looking twice (or more), equiped with our three perspectives, and see the whole hunger beneath what we thought we came to say or see. And only then will we return to where and how we must be & move. And what we must sacrifice. We must change before we change each other, and therefore, we are changing the world before it shows. Know this.