November 9, 2020
This is My Poetry Corner
By Amba Gale
In honor of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, whose poem, “This is my Prayer Room,” from his book, “Early Music,” inspired this poem.
This is my Poetry Corner.
This is where each morning
I light the candles
and watch the incense smoke
gently rise, and circle, to the ceiling of my room.
One straight thin strand of smoke, and then the circles. Who knows what invisible breath
shapes its climb
shapes mine
shapes yours.
For one who knows nothing,
it is enough
to be still, to let
the spirit-breath grow
shapes around me
that stir my senses
into wakefulness.
This is the corner in my home
where each morning
the silky smooth goodness
of the warm tea
settles into my body and sends
its healing goodness
to start my day.
This is my poetry corner
where my pen and pages of poetry
and blank white pages of poetry not yet born,
await me,
curious, wondering,
ready to discover what new surprise
will find them and fill them
with the soft, loving, wise, artistic voice
of my Muse.