Restore and Connect: A Winter Week Poem

By: Julia Cartwright
Restore and Connect Participant

At certain times, and in certain ways a clarion call comes,
Saying:

Stop.

Put down your life.
Take a bold step.
Cross a threshold.
Journey anew.

Within certain circles, and along certain paths, a name is whispered,
Echoing:

Come.

Join in the circle.
Restore all within.
Share in the now.
Commune with your fellows.

In a certain sense, and a certain knowing, I followed the drum beat,
Praying:

Watch.

Here is my life.
Also my spirit.
Restore all my elements.
My heart is at hand.

On certain days, and in uncertain weather, our tasks became clear,
Beckoning:

Wait.

Garden with patience.
Ponder on nature.
Consider the sunlight.
Honour the moon.

With certain people, and with uncertain crafts, creativity called us,
Suggesting:

Amble.

Flow with the rhythm.
Draw the stitch carefully.
Dance with the needles.
Grow with the knitting.

With a certain tempo, and certain moving, yoga garnered our bodies,
Claiming:

Inhale.

Move with the universe.
Breathe out your love.
Call to the branches.
Bow to the dawn.

For certain endings and certain claimings,  Winter Week parted the waves,
Exclaiming:

Walk.

Changing is forward.
Ancestors will guide you.
Gaia sees further.
Share the earths harvest.

My certain being, and my certain soulness, were enriched with bounty,
Proclaiming:

Look.

Here are my gifts.
Unique in their honing.
Gracious in their sharing.
Wise in their singing.