Compass Within

How to push on from here,
our map shredded,
the pavement broken
bearing no clue
of the distant place
our dreams foretold.
The rivers rise,
oceans empty
and the earth groans
under the weight
of expectation.
I remember your face,
seeing you in the boy,
in the sky at sunset,
and the memories
of all who went before.
Time narrows to our footsteps,
the hollow drum sounding
beneath brown duff
and roots eternal.
There’s no holding on,
just the movement
of our faith
and the arc of stars
guiding us.
Without words
the compass within
silent and sure.

 

 


 


16 Responses to “Compass Within”

  1. Sylvia McAfee says:

    Powerful, Thought provoking…
    Thank you, Don.

  2. Tom Walsh says:

    Thanks Don. And onward we go …

  3. T Johansson says:

    Oh, YEAH!
    You caught it BIG TIME with this one, Spirit Brother!

  4. David Barnes says:

    Very fine piece Don.

  5. Lloyd Meeker says:

    Exactly where I am right now, Don. One foot in front of the other, the only thing sure is where my compass points. No idea what the terrain will look like, but I know which way to head.

  6. Marco says:

    Life – unpredictable, uncertain, unconquerable, uncontainable, inexorable, and irrefutable. That compass … all we have, and all we need.

  7. David Banner says:

    Don…brilliantly spoken,,,I am at that point…In the past, I would rush out and find a “project” to do….no more…I have no idea where I need to go except as I stay in the present moment…than it is revealed…..trust and faith are the keys…….

  8. Eleanor GillMilner says:

    Word images that eloquently express what it is like to find ourselves with our own decisions about which paths to travel after parents and mentors are gone. Suddenly, like the first falling leaves and autumn chill, we find that we are in the driver’s seat now. I think it is called “growing up”.

  9. I’ve recently identified my “drive pattern” many social workers carry. This includes the “tyranny of the shoulds” and the procrastination generating “oughts”. For weeks I wandered around, aware of the hole in my functioning. I know what this is. It is my choice to make space for deeper, stronger guidance from within. So I go through my day asking, “What’s next?” and I take action only when the direction is clear.

  10. Robin Bryant says:

    This makes my heart pound, my eyes gleam, and my breath say ‘Ahhh’. My whole Being is blessed with what has been, what is, and the magic before me. How thankful I am to know the travels of being Alive on this earth. Now, being Silent is my key .. in Listening I hear the call .. and Trust is my guide. What a perfect design it is, to create within Creation.

  11. Kevin Marks says:

    You nailed it, Don. Good work… thank you!

  12. Sarah Hanson says:

    Don, ‘just the movement of our faith and the arc of stars guiding us’, how beautiful and true. The way has always been with us, the time of listening has come…….step softly………

  13. Katherine O,,,Neill says:

    What else to say after reading your poem and the inspiring reflections o n it? “just the movement of our faith and the arc of stars guiding us”defines my life for sure. Now it is awareness of my present moment and the Presence of God in it that leads me to calmness and peace that lives underneath the baffling situations and my own vulnerability. Thanks so much, Don, and the rest of you for your responses that gave me a place to rest at nightfall.

  14. Stan Grindstaff says:

    I love this poem, Don… the sweep of it… the movement through elementals… the cosmic connection… the heartbeat of it… the potential sure & magical in my heart of hearts… love the synchronistic pulse of our friendship… love still being here in the earth earthy as I breathe celestial rhythms…

  15. Athena Coleman says:

    This is incredible. Magnificent and poignant. I haven’t been able to read it without tearing up; that tells me the truth of it is unmistakable.

  16. Pichay says:

    …even my eloquent waxing of word response a moment ago was wiped out by shifting sands…

    Thank you, Don, and all in this community

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