Dorothy Walters, Poet
I am speechless with excitement because I just discovered that one of my favorite poets, Dorothy Walters, has her own blog: Kundalini Splendor. It is filled with beauty and wisdom just like her poetry. Walter’s work inspires and feeds me on a deep level. Take for instance this poem, which tells the story of my life:
A Cloth of Fine Gold
You may think
that first lit flame
was the ultimate blaze,
the holy fire revealed.What do you know
of furnaces?
This is a sun that returns
again and again, refining, igniting,
pouring your spirit
through a cloth of delicate gold
until all dross is taken
and you are sweet as
clarified butter
in god/the goddess’ mouth.
-Dorothy Walters
She intimately understands the relationship between Creator and creator. This next poem pinpoints my experience of my own vision of the Virgin Mary,my Annunciation, and my ensuing illness:
Preparing to Meet the Goddess
Do not think of her
unless you are prepared
to be driven to your limits,
to rush forth from yourself
like a ritual bowl overflowing
with sacramental wine.Do not summon her image
unless you are ready to be blinded,
to stand in the flash
of a center exploding,
yourself shattering into the landscape,
wavering bits of bark and water.Do not speak her name
until you have said good-bye
to all your familiar trinkets –
your mirrors, your bracelets,
your childhood adorations –
From now on you are nothing,
a ghost sighing at the window,
a voice singing under water.
-Dorothy Walters
These poems make clear the paradox of the terrible rending of life that is at the same time a beautiful gift, like the healing wounds of the stigmata.
Our job is, like alchemists, to heal and rarify matter. We are made for that nexus point where Creator & creator merge into One. Where Spirit infuses matter, where Light penetrates dark, and where we embrace our status as scared wombs born to give birth to the Divine.
I saw Copying Beethoven this weekend. I highly recommend it as a movie that really explores the spiritual path of making art. Here is an excerpt which sums up what I have been saying here. I couldn’t find a shorter cut, but check at about the 3 minute mark where Beethoven explains the spiritual purpose behind making music:
Here is the direct link for email subscribers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PSyxwaTICs&feature=related
Blessings.
Sybil
Related posts:
- Hildegard of Bingen: Illness and Creative Purpose
- Filling the Vacuum a Little… Bringing Earth to Healing
- The Feminine Aspect of the Divine
Thursday, February 4th, 2010,
by Painter of Blue and is filed under "Beethoven, Birth, Blogs, Dorothy Walters, Healing, Illness, Making art, Mystics, Poetry, Stigmata, Virgin Mary, creation, creativity, womb, Beethoven, Birth, Blogroll, creation, creativity, Dorothy Walters, Illness, Making art, Poetry, Stigmata, Virgin Mary, womb ".
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2 Responses “Dorothy Walters, Poet”
Beautiful post. Thank you. I especially like: “Our job is, like alchemists, to heal and rarify matter.” I likewise am engaged in that process of inner alchemy. I look forward to reading more of your work – and I’ll be visiting Dorothy Walters’ site too. Blessings to you
Sybil, wonderful, wonderful. I did not know this poet and am so excited about being introduced to her writing, as well as her blog! Thank you so much.
Jan´s last blog ..Friday Five: Gloom before Spring