She came home, with starlight still clinging to her eyelashes and dew drenched skin where there was hardened armor before. She returned with a lightness, stripped of pretense; and she had no worries to hang at the door. She did not stop to check her reflection or straighten the mess of her hair, but she […]
Author: Cristen Rodgers
Autumn in the South
In the south, autumn isn’t seen so much as felt. Here, it rides in on the wings of birds looking for their seasonal homes. The leaves don’t really change, but the wind does, and it speaks of letting go, freedom, and transformation. We don’t add layers of sweaters and boots, we shed them. Our season […]
The Space Between
I’ve come to believe that the secret to peace, to authentic happiness and fulfillment is to live as much as possible in the space between. The space between sentences, between thoughts, between doing this and doing that. The space between before and after, between here and there, feeling and thought, thought and action. The secret, […]
Here We Are
There you are, my love, did I but for a moment let my gaze slip away? Your presence soothes me through a birds innocent morning song, and in leaf shaped sunlight dancing upon the walls. Your beauty astounds me, glimmering in dew covered petals and streaked across these pastel skies. Your hope courses through me […]
Live Gently
Let me touch this world gently; I don’t need to raise a storm or bring down a mountain. Let me simply hold a hand and whisper a prayer. Let me gaze upon a delicate flower and share its beauty with the next traveler along the way. I don’t need to be a sun, if I […]
Crumpled Poetry
Oh, but I am so very much more than a collection of pretty words. I’m tear stained and crumpled poetry; stirring, profound, rubbish, absurd. I’m tranquil shades of arcadian blue, a hawk soaring over wide open skies; demure and charcoal grey backdrops, and storms raging from swollen eyes. I am the stench of decayed, rotting […]
All is Well
In the pre-dawn hours, I drink in the last glow of a tiring moon, to the flat sound of my footsteps on quiet streets. Those same streets today are lined by ancient oaks so strong, and a sky so heavy and low, it’s as if they’re holding it up until it can find its blue […]
This is Home
This is home, she thought to herself, as she stared at interwoven branches casting heavy shadows against the afternoon sun; though she was miles away from the place where she laid her head to rest at night. That particular balance of stillness and sound that can only be found in nature filled her, until the […]
The Self-Made Woman
You can’t break a woman who is self made. She’s courageous and strong, because she walked through her darkest nights alone. She faced her own fears, and picked her own self up off the floor when it was time to start again. She doesn’t fear your monsters, because she was warrior enough to slay her […]
A Room of Your Own
In this mansion of a heart you have always had a room of your own, a place where you whispered the wisdom traditions of mothers, a place where you could tuck your prayers and hang your hopes, a place that I could go when distance kept us apart. Now, here, your room will always remain, […]
New Year 2021
To those who have left hints like breadcrumbs for others as you find your own way, thank you for having the courage to forge a new path, and for having the compassion to keep a candle burning as you go. There were times that your glimmer helped me find my way through the dark, and […]
Stay
Stop running from your darkness. Stop letting your fears blind you to what desperately wants to be seen. Look into your shadows. Find your center and remain still. Stay present. Stay brave. Stay aware. Stay true and wait. Just as the sun will rise again in the morning, so also will love rise up to […]