Monday, March 11, 2013

A daughter's prayer

                                                          Artist:   Chelsea Bednar

draw over 

       my third eye
       - sun's gift of light 
       my forehead
       - moon's arc for peace  

scatter your words     

      wet on my cheeks  
      - that I may understand the tears of others 
      bold on my shoulders  
      - that I may carry their cares like an offering    

rub sea-salt     

      on these hands 
      - to nurture children like seeds   
      on these feet  
      - to carry proudly your name 



Posted for:  Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - OpenLinkNight & Artistic Impressions with MargaretThe above is Chelsea's finished body painting depicting the African Mythological Goddess, Yemaya Oshun.   

Shared with Poets United
Thanks for the visit ~

36 comments:

  1. I.Love.This.Poem. A daughter's prayer. Perfect!

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  2. Love the writing, wonder at the ability of any human to carry that weight.

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  3. Beautiful...I love the third eye reference, the playful way with your words, so well done! Made me smile :D

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  4. scatter your words

    wet on my cheeks
    - that I may understand the tears of others
    bold on my shoulders
    - that I may carry their cares like an offering

    nice...that whole middle section, is just amazing...i love the compassion in your words...and that it is not all about you...this makes for a wonderful philosophy for life as well grace....def one of my favs of yours...

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  5. Cleverly done...I love your poetry Grace.

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  6. This one carries your words so well, one of the top's at you cell. And watch those feet, carrying everything the may get beat haha

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  7. The middle section is something to sink in to... to absorb

    The ending, rubbing sea salt and carrying proudly your name is inspired as well. I am thrilled that this beautiful poem was inspired by Chelsea's art work!

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    1. Do you mind linking up at my challenge site as well? So I can easily have Chelsea read them all? :) Thanks.

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    2. ~ Done and thanks for the lovely inspiration ~

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  8. This is such a beautiful poem, I would love to hang this up on a wall and read it everyday.

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  9. I love your approach to this prompt. Each section of the poem gives a different aspect of the feminine goddess - I particularly love the concluding stanza, the rubbed salt is a fabulous image.

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  10. Yes, a beautiful middle, sandwiches by two excellent slices of mysticism.

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  11. love the fusion of pagan and liturgical elements in the poem and the picture.

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  12. Wonderful take Grace! You've done it very well matched by the sweet Chelsea!

    Hank

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  13. ...i like the notion of rubbing sea salt like seeds... two poems in combo... one suggestive... the other is objective... both well served for the loss & fullness of each to provide a single purpose... great one Grace... much enjoyed.. smiles... liked the body paint inspiration...

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  14. Your words echo most every mother's hopes.
    And they follow the painting very well too.
    A nice write, Grace.
    ..

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  15. What a great response to the photo prompt Margaret provided. I particularly like the sea salt section... I need to immerse myself in sea water every year, and a few sea salt shower scrubs carry me over until the next time. ;-)

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  16. Wonderfully structured which complements the meaning so well. I particularly like
    scatter your words

    wet on my cheeks
    - that I may understand the tears of others
    bold on my shoulders
    - that I may carry their cares like an offering

    Beautiful words Grace.

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  17. Wow ... some beautiful lines in that prayer !!!

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  18. This is beautiful, especially this:

    "scatter your words

    wet on my cheeks
    - that I may understand the tears of others"

    Wonderful piece, Grace.

    ~andy

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  19. So lovely, "that I may carry their cares like an offering"........this sounds more like a mother's prayer, than a daughter's, but then we are both, in the end. One of my favorites of yours, Grace. Absolutely beautiful.

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  20. Oh, wow, Grace, this is wonderful.
    K

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  21. Grace, this is just lovely, and beautiful seems the appropriate word to describe it. love the image, too. x

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  22. A spiritually educational poem. nice work

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  23. This is simple, yet deep and powerful.

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  24. Your words are a soothing unguent for my heart this day.
    a very deep bow, Grace!

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  25. Scatter your words -wet on my cheeks - Lovely words, beautifully written. Very powerful

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  26. This is truly beautiful.

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  27. very, very nice! keep it going, Grace.

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  28. Beautifully written for some of the roads I have followed.

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  29. That is the coolest pic, and what a companion to that. Grace, one thing I love about you is that you are always all over the board when it comes to writing style. I never feel like I have read the same thing as I did last time or the time before. That is quite a talent. Match the up with the beauty of your style and you have it...and I love it. Great job.

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  30. Beautifully done, Grace. This had a healing effect...at least, it happened to me. Gorgeous piece!

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  31. This might be my all-time favorite of yours! It is just perfection!

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