The poem and the responses and the heartfelt wisdom and community here are nourishment to my soul and spirit. Thank you for the power of words, the beauty in sharing, and the bounty that is present in loving community.
I am only ten years younger than you, Parker, and your poem resonated with me deeply as I spend more time thinking about how to make sure that whatever time I have left if spent wisely…or at least intentionally. Thank you.
Parker, thanks for having the courage to post your poem! Since the college where I taught announced it was closing last summer and my job ended in December, it has felt like everything I knew, students, classes, daily routines has fallen away. As the shock wears off, I have noticed a thin thread running through the rubble. For me that is a steady pull to help people listen for God and for one another. Thanks for this image!! The job is gone, but that thread remains, thanks be to God. I’m learning to trust it, though some mornings it feels quite small to hold.
How inspiring Parker and what a Weaving of wisdom with William Stafford's quote and the expansion of our thread in the tapestry.
I have just completed a book entitled Beyond The Thread- A Guide for Reweaving Your Life, Your Work and the Systems that Shape Us. As I was writing with the full focus on reweaving, I realized that first we had to unweave and know our threads. I loved your description of following the thread and it "weaves into the unimaginable vastness of life"! Your Work continues to inspire me and now affirms and supports this path I am on. I value all the ways you show up and your poetry is beautiful.
Dear Parker — our 30 year spiritual direction group started out with your books. And we continue to find calm in the storm with your poetry. And yet I am overwhelmed with grief. How to grieve and not sink…♥️🌺💐🙏🪻
Thank you, Robin. How lucky you are to have a community with such continuity. Grieving without sinking is what many of us are trying to do. Maybe grieving together then helping each other rise is the best way forward. I'll hold you in the Light...
Sarah, I just read your deeply thoughtful and wise post, including that moving poem... Thank you so much for words that come from the heart of your journey and provide companionship for others as we go. Among other things, it's lovely to know that we've been connected by words in a book for nearly 30 years! Please write on! Deep bow...
such a tender tribute to the nature of impermanence, thank you parker. i once read a thought-provoking essay by rabbi kerry olitzky urging us not only to apply the infamous “this too shall pass” biblical adage to sorrow, but joy as well. impermanence can bring on a powerful pain in tragic times of loss yet also a beautiful balm when we are suffering wondering if it will ever stop. in other words, both/and…
room for the Holy Spirit to enter in. Another post I read today talked about the aspects of human playfulness and inconsistency that distinguish human-generated content from AI-generated material.
Thanks, Michael. For folks who value imperfection, they've come to the right place! I know hardly anything about AI, but maybe what I just said is a self-referential joke that AI couldn't pull off. Take care!
One person said something like “don’t cover your cracks: that’s how the light comes in.” Or, in your case, that’s how your light goes out and illuminates some of us—the Holy Spirit has been working through you for many years!
Thank you so much, Síodhna. I love your poem! I certainly see the connection to "Everything Falls Away," but my main response when I read it was first "Wow!" then sitting with it in silence for a while. Thank you!
I don't know about "lowering my standards", what I try to offer just doesn't live up to what I wish it. Some years ago, I became convicted that doing something imperfectly is better than doing nothing perfectly and that sometimes what I have shared even when it didn't live up to what I want, has proved to be helpfully to someone else.
Thanks, Dale. I totally agree with what you say about doing something imperfectly and how never know who might be helped by it. I think Stafford said what he said a bit tongue-in-cheek. In truth he was a master of his craft. Take care.
Thanks, Ruth. I find it encouraging that so many Americans—and some key institutions—are speaking political truth as they know it and letting the chips fall where they may. As someone who has a ton of privilege (white, male privilege) it doesn't feel courageous to make political statements—it's just that I couldn't live with myself if I failed to do so. Thanks again, and take care.
Thank you for sharing the poem and music Mister Parker. J. Palmer. They are both uplifting and moved me into a smile. They remind me of a life wish I hope to fulfil one day, which is to die with a twinkle in my eyes, a smile on my face, a dance in my body and a whisper in my bones saying; welcome home beloved one.
Living in Europe myself it's also nice to hear another sound coming from across the ocean.
Thank you, Alja. I'm glad the poem and the music spoke to you, and I love your vision of how you want to take your exit. Beautiful! Speaking for a lot of Americans, we're grateful for the continuing friendship of our European sisters and brothers. One way or another, we shall overcome!
To my surprise your words moved me more then I expected. Maybe because in my country we're not used to talk about our friends and fellow human beings as sisters and brothers. It embodies a respect for the kinship we as humans have and that we are in our differences equal. I have a lot of thoughts at the moment, to many to filter the essence out and share it here. I am looking forward to read your poems and posts. Thank you Parker for your kind response, love always prevails.
I so enjoyed this post. Your poems are deeply insightful and moving...and I can relate to your liberation. I have long felt that I have things to offer, but kept them inside or in journals or drawings, etc. Over the years I've been asked to share and take on ministries in the churches I've been part of and that affirmed those feelings. Among other things, my Episcopal pastor came to me in 2017 and said she felt that I had something to offer the congregation and asked me to preach (I was/am unordained). I knew this to be true and right in my heart and for 3 years I preached every 2-3 months in our church. It felt as natural as breathing to me. I had similar experiences in the Catholic Church, but of course it wasn't preaching; I was asked to speak to groups of people on spirituality.
Like you, I had a little nudge from Carrie Newcomer. Late last year, she wrote in her Substack about "detail buddies" and encouraged her readers to share details and pictures. And that opened me up to what had been percolating inside me. In December of 2024 I went public with my thoughts/reflections. I have been sharing weekly with a relatively small group of friends around the country pictures and reflections from my life in the natural world. It has been very well received and has also been a balm for my soul. I do believe I have something to offer. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me and those on my distribution list. I think we all have something to offer, but we often hide our gifts and talents because it's very vulnerable and none of us want to be shut down. I'm so happy for you and so thankful that you are sharing in this way. I'm happy for all of us who believe in ourselves enough to "break out of the box with the tight-fitting top." A recent poem sent out by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer affirmed my own journey:
Thanks so much, Susan. I'm touched by the story of how you found your voice, and so glad you did. And the two people you mentioned, Carrie and Rosemerry, have helped a lot of folks show up in the world as themselves, with their gifts. Power to you!
As one whose thread is approaching its end, this poem is worth the reflection.
The poem and the responses and the heartfelt wisdom and community here are nourishment to my soul and spirit. Thank you for the power of words, the beauty in sharing, and the bounty that is present in loving community.
I am only ten years younger than you, Parker, and your poem resonated with me deeply as I spend more time thinking about how to make sure that whatever time I have left if spent wisely…or at least intentionally. Thank you.
Parker, thanks for having the courage to post your poem! Since the college where I taught announced it was closing last summer and my job ended in December, it has felt like everything I knew, students, classes, daily routines has fallen away. As the shock wears off, I have noticed a thin thread running through the rubble. For me that is a steady pull to help people listen for God and for one another. Thanks for this image!! The job is gone, but that thread remains, thanks be to God. I’m learning to trust it, though some mornings it feels quite small to hold.
How inspiring Parker and what a Weaving of wisdom with William Stafford's quote and the expansion of our thread in the tapestry.
I have just completed a book entitled Beyond The Thread- A Guide for Reweaving Your Life, Your Work and the Systems that Shape Us. As I was writing with the full focus on reweaving, I realized that first we had to unweave and know our threads. I loved your description of following the thread and it "weaves into the unimaginable vastness of life"! Your Work continues to inspire me and now affirms and supports this path I am on. I value all the ways you show up and your poetry is beautiful.
Kathy
Wonderful message and poem. I will pass this along to my Quaker group at Exeter Quaker Meeting.
Thank you, Nancy. Please greet Friends for me!
Dear Parker — our 30 year spiritual direction group started out with your books. And we continue to find calm in the storm with your poetry. And yet I am overwhelmed with grief. How to grieve and not sink…♥️🌺💐🙏🪻
Thank you, Robin. How lucky you are to have a community with such continuity. Grieving without sinking is what many of us are trying to do. Maybe grieving together then helping each other rise is the best way forward. I'll hold you in the Light...
Thank you for the inspiration. https://open.substack.com/pub/bigquestionscollabthinks/p/maybe-its-a-poem
Sarah, I just read your deeply thoughtful and wise post, including that moving poem... Thank you so much for words that come from the heart of your journey and provide companionship for others as we go. Among other things, it's lovely to know that we've been connected by words in a book for nearly 30 years! Please write on! Deep bow...
Hand on my heart, thank you for the kindness and encouragement. Thank you.
such a tender tribute to the nature of impermanence, thank you parker. i once read a thought-provoking essay by rabbi kerry olitzky urging us not only to apply the infamous “this too shall pass” biblical adage to sorrow, but joy as well. impermanence can bring on a powerful pain in tragic times of loss yet also a beautiful balm when we are suffering wondering if it will ever stop. in other words, both/and…
Thanks, Skott. The Rabbi's teaching really resonates with me, and as you say, it's a balm when we are suffering. Take care...
I once told a pair of singer-songwriters that they should not aim for being perfect so as to leave
room for the Holy Spirit to enter in. Another post I read today talked about the aspects of human playfulness and inconsistency that distinguish human-generated content from AI-generated material.
Thanks, Michael. For folks who value imperfection, they've come to the right place! I know hardly anything about AI, but maybe what I just said is a self-referential joke that AI couldn't pull off. Take care!
One person said something like “don’t cover your cracks: that’s how the light comes in.” Or, in your case, that’s how your light goes out and illuminates some of us—the Holy Spirit has been working through you for many years!
I think everything falls away could have been my introduction to you Parker.
Here's a piece I wrote the other day, perhaps there's dotted lines in theme, though I'll let you be the judge of that.
.
'Kintsugi'
.
let's go back, shall we?
to simpler times—
.
before cracks
fractured the blend
.
we once were. warriors— talking on moonbeams,
walking on ribbons— of parallel thought
faultlines in fissures
felt like— lava
.
quelled to glimmers of gold
scars incandescent in the mend
.
dead grey rock
to red. hot. joy.
.
what makes your eyes light up?
what bathes us in mystery?
.
come— come closer to what emanates from passion
I'm sketching a home in the sky
.
from the honeyed lines
of fragility
.
flying— on the wings of wildness,
upon arias in refrain
.
a communion made sacred
from the alchemy of separation
-
https://open.substack.com/pub/theseainme/p/kintsugi?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=46rss
Thank you so much, Síodhna. I love your poem! I certainly see the connection to "Everything Falls Away," but my main response when I read it was first "Wow!" then sitting with it in silence for a while. Thank you!
What a beautiful response to read! Thank you Parker.
I don't know about "lowering my standards", what I try to offer just doesn't live up to what I wish it. Some years ago, I became convicted that doing something imperfectly is better than doing nothing perfectly and that sometimes what I have shared even when it didn't live up to what I want, has proved to be helpfully to someone else.
Thanks, Dale. I totally agree with what you say about doing something imperfectly and how never know who might be helped by it. I think Stafford said what he said a bit tongue-in-cheek. In truth he was a master of his craft. Take care.
I so appreciate brave writers willing to make connections between living our truths and taking political action. Thank you so much.
Thanks, Ruth. I find it encouraging that so many Americans—and some key institutions—are speaking political truth as they know it and letting the chips fall where they may. As someone who has a ton of privilege (white, male privilege) it doesn't feel courageous to make political statements—it's just that I couldn't live with myself if I failed to do so. Thanks again, and take care.
Thank you for sharing the poem and music Mister Parker. J. Palmer. They are both uplifting and moved me into a smile. They remind me of a life wish I hope to fulfil one day, which is to die with a twinkle in my eyes, a smile on my face, a dance in my body and a whisper in my bones saying; welcome home beloved one.
Living in Europe myself it's also nice to hear another sound coming from across the ocean.
Thank you, Alja. I'm glad the poem and the music spoke to you, and I love your vision of how you want to take your exit. Beautiful! Speaking for a lot of Americans, we're grateful for the continuing friendship of our European sisters and brothers. One way or another, we shall overcome!
To my surprise your words moved me more then I expected. Maybe because in my country we're not used to talk about our friends and fellow human beings as sisters and brothers. It embodies a respect for the kinship we as humans have and that we are in our differences equal. I have a lot of thoughts at the moment, to many to filter the essence out and share it here. I am looking forward to read your poems and posts. Thank you Parker for your kind response, love always prevails.
To those unfamiliar I highly recommend everything he writes!
Many years ago I received as a gift…Let Your Life Speak. I revisit it … usually when in some life transition. Much wisdom in a truly small book!
Thanks so much, Linda. Much appreciated!
I so enjoyed this post. Your poems are deeply insightful and moving...and I can relate to your liberation. I have long felt that I have things to offer, but kept them inside or in journals or drawings, etc. Over the years I've been asked to share and take on ministries in the churches I've been part of and that affirmed those feelings. Among other things, my Episcopal pastor came to me in 2017 and said she felt that I had something to offer the congregation and asked me to preach (I was/am unordained). I knew this to be true and right in my heart and for 3 years I preached every 2-3 months in our church. It felt as natural as breathing to me. I had similar experiences in the Catholic Church, but of course it wasn't preaching; I was asked to speak to groups of people on spirituality.
Like you, I had a little nudge from Carrie Newcomer. Late last year, she wrote in her Substack about "detail buddies" and encouraged her readers to share details and pictures. And that opened me up to what had been percolating inside me. In December of 2024 I went public with my thoughts/reflections. I have been sharing weekly with a relatively small group of friends around the country pictures and reflections from my life in the natural world. It has been very well received and has also been a balm for my soul. I do believe I have something to offer. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me and those on my distribution list. I think we all have something to offer, but we often hide our gifts and talents because it's very vulnerable and none of us want to be shut down. I'm so happy for you and so thankful that you are sharing in this way. I'm happy for all of us who believe in ourselves enough to "break out of the box with the tight-fitting top." A recent poem sent out by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer affirmed my own journey:
It is true, you are too much for some—
especially those who have not yet learned
they carry the sea inside them. Especially
those who still want to fit their lives
into small, dry boxes with tight-fitting tops.
But there will be some who desperately need you
to show up every bit as immense as you are,
not one drop smaller, need you to be unashamedly
vast and deep and full of strange things
neither you nor they can understand.
Maybe it’s just one person who needs you
to be that big. Maybe that person is you.
Thanks so much, Susan. I'm touched by the story of how you found your voice, and so glad you did. And the two people you mentioned, Carrie and Rosemerry, have helped a lot of folks show up in the world as themselves, with their gifts. Power to you!
Thank you, Parker.