Touched by an Angel -- Maya Angelou

Here's the full poem by Maya Angelou. I first found/heard this back in 1996-ish when I was in college; I forgot how much these profound words resonated with me and described how I feel.

Enjoy!

Touched by an Angel

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

--Maya Angelou

Ode to a Honeycrisp Apple

The sound of fall
Not falling leaves or trick-or-treaters
But a bite of you, dear apple,
Your could not be sweeter.

All year I pine
And wait anxiously for your arrival
Tolerating other tastes
Biding my time; it is pure survival.

Then the signs appear--
Oh what joy and rapture are mine--
To see you in the market
Bringing arm-fulls of you to my home to dine.

You Speak My Language

You Speak My Language

You watched me from above.
I reached out for you but dared not speak--
Yet you knew the words
My mouth could not utter:

Need.
Help.
Hurt.
Heartache.
Lost.

A linguist of love,
You articulate healing with
Every blink and syllable.
What name have I for you,
My cherished helper?
Only one:
Friend.

Breathing

I love to write (as you can tell from all of my blog posts). Writing is often the way that I "study out" a situation and determine what I know and what I don't know. And it is also a way that I solidify my feelings / testimony of a subject.

When thinking about how I feel when the Lord is with me versus when I handle life's challenges alone, I realized what a stark contrast there was to how I felt. This poem is an attempt to illustrate that.

"Breathing"

Alone
In the harried ubiquity of
Chaos
Screaming in my ears like a
Drill sergeant
Forcing myself to inch forward
Gasping for breath
Every movement arduous,
Moments away from
Expiring all strength--
Collapsing.
Then
You
Find
Me.

Safe
In the certain embrace of
Divine Love.
You tenderly whisper
"I am here"
And that is
Enough.
Serenity--
The most delicious melody--
Caresses my ears
Replenishes strength
Relaxes every sinew.
I submit
Relinquishing the solo quest.
Together
We will face
Tomorrow's climb.
But for now
I
Can
Breathe.