'...the situation of a person or thing that is forced actively to oppose or to succumb to some adverse condition ...'
Being "At Bay" has been, as it turns out, not adverse at all ... albiet this place was not fully desired, but certainly couldn't have been predicted to be the rich, fulfilling experience of a non-linear life that it is turning out to be.
I walk the shore, watch the Waters ebb and flow
I am joined from time to time with Lovers and Friends
And Family ...
Blessings too many to count ...
As I wait to swim once more, if only now and again ....
It is all worth it,
It has all been worth it
Just to swim again with My Bay
(c)2011jsblankenship
Showing posts with label bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bay. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Bay 9
Receded
Drawn out to the Center of the Storm;
My Waters Receded
Pulled from me
Leaving for me
A sight Resemblant
of the Moon's Surface .... starkly Vast and Empty
Uneven with Voids of Craters, into Which I could fall endlessly.
I, too, feel Drawn
Drawn out to follow and Find My Bay;
To once Again, Swim in her waters.
I will Always Thirst for her
Warm, salty silk Quench ...
So I venture out
Onto this Faux Moon Surface
Only to find the Marsh of Quicksand
Left by my Bay's leaving...
This muck resists my Efforts to move Out
To find my Love, My Bay.
And sucks my feet deeper and deeper, Earthbound
Growing Roots here where I belong,
Flourishing in my Own Soul.
(c)2011jsblankenship
Drawn out to the Center of the Storm;
My Waters Receded
Pulled from me
Leaving for me
A sight Resemblant
of the Moon's Surface .... starkly Vast and Empty
Uneven with Voids of Craters, into Which I could fall endlessly.
I, too, feel Drawn
Drawn out to follow and Find My Bay;
To once Again, Swim in her waters.
I will Always Thirst for her
Warm, salty silk Quench ...
So I venture out
Onto this Faux Moon Surface
Only to find the Marsh of Quicksand
Left by my Bay's leaving...
This muck resists my Efforts to move Out
To find my Love, My Bay.
And sucks my feet deeper and deeper, Earthbound
Growing Roots here where I belong,
Flourishing in my Own Soul.
(c)2011jsblankenship
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Bay 8
I swim Alone Inside of her
Surrounded by her Essence
yet, Unable to touch her or to be Touched by her Love.
How do you Swim in the Waters
which never touch your Skin?
How long can you breathe
without Inhaling?
When will her waters wash over me
And break Open this Pocket
of Non-existent Air in which I linger?
When will these Waves Lap over me
and Soothe the skin of my Soul?
To Join me in the Play of Sun and Warmth
Peace, Laughter and Love ...
(c)2011jsblankenship
Surrounded by her Essence
yet, Unable to touch her or to be Touched by her Love.
How do you Swim in the Waters
which never touch your Skin?
How long can you breathe
without Inhaling?
When will her waters wash over me
And break Open this Pocket
of Non-existent Air in which I linger?
When will these Waves Lap over me
and Soothe the skin of my Soul?
To Join me in the Play of Sun and Warmth
Peace, Laughter and Love ...
(c)2011jsblankenship
Friday, October 22, 2010
Bay 7
She has a Stairway
Rising Up out of the Depths
of her Soul.
I've seen it in Her
from the Very first day
I laid Eyes on her,
in All of her Beauty.
Some days she Hides these Stairs
from the World
And her Self.
Some days only a Few Rise to the Top
of her Surface.
This Step-Wise Path
To the Sun,
To her Own Beauty
and Strength
Cannot always Contain Itself.
It has an Energy all it's Own.
But Afraid She remains;
As Those of this Land
have Trampled all along
These Steps.
Attempted to Use her Uniqueness,
Her Life-Force,
As stepping stones
From the Lack of their own Self-Worth.
But her Nature is Love.
And She Bares them
As Long as She can
Until, Finally, She Fills up
With the Waters of her Tears,
And Floods those Stairs once more.
There is a Stair Way
Rising Up out of the Depths
of her Waters and Soul.
I Will Capture those Stairs
For Her.
Capture them in all Their Beauty.
So that She May See Their image
In the Awe in Which I BeHold Them.
There is a Stair Way
Rising Up ...
(c)2010jsblankenship
Rising Up out of the Depths
of her Soul.
I've seen it in Her
from the Very first day
I laid Eyes on her,
in All of her Beauty.
Some days she Hides these Stairs
from the World
And her Self.
Some days only a Few Rise to the Top
of her Surface.
This Step-Wise Path
To the Sun,
To her Own Beauty
and Strength
Cannot always Contain Itself.
It has an Energy all it's Own.
But Afraid She remains;
As Those of this Land
have Trampled all along
These Steps.
Attempted to Use her Uniqueness,
Her Life-Force,
As stepping stones
From the Lack of their own Self-Worth.
But her Nature is Love.
And She Bares them
As Long as She can
Until, Finally, She Fills up
With the Waters of her Tears,
And Floods those Stairs once more.
There is a Stair Way
Rising Up out of the Depths
of her Waters and Soul.
I Will Capture those Stairs
For Her.
Capture them in all Their Beauty.
So that She May See Their image
In the Awe in Which I BeHold Them.
There is a Stair Way
Rising Up ...
(c)2010jsblankenship
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Bay 6
She is quiet, once more;Still as the Silence
in a Holy prayer chapel.
I long to touch her
and make movements in her calm.
My wish to not disrupt,
but to Dance with her
in Peace.
It is Peace that she desires
Is it peace that she possesses?
Or Numb discontent
in the confinements of
Her vision?
She can be unloosed
with the Slightest
Blow of Wind.
Her energy, Her Beauty
Overwhelming me with desire
to enter her waters
and Swim with her as one;
letting her Waters surround me,
Vulnerable and strong.
She is temperamental;
lapping man's intruders
with Waves of tears
anger, lament or Joy
even Laughter at his gall.
And I never know
what I'll find when near her.
Why do we fear the essence
and power of one
that we so love
and desire?
She calls to me
and wants me to be a part of her.
I feel it from her when
I ride easy above her body.
I feel it when I'm inside of her.
And whenever she calls out to me,
I will always come near.
Lingering above her,
I see her swell and arch
in Anticipation of the change
in her tides.
Moving us in, yet,
Another new Direction.
My Bay ...
(c)2010jsblankenship
Friday, September 24, 2010
Bay 5
My Lord, You are Amazing!
As I sit here aside
My Bay;
I look across from the Gandy
past the Howard-Franklin --
Bridges that Span your Depth --
And I see a darkened Wall
in the sky and think:
'...It's raining over in Clearwater...'
Then I realize:
I know This place,
it's Nature,
More than I do
My place of Birth.
My Birth-city is Identified
by It's People and their Insecurities
(Centuries and Generations of Class and Color).
This Place the I've grown to Love,
is identified
by The Weather,
It's inhabitants,
and Their Passions.
I sit Here in Limbo;
trying Very Hard
to Maintain this
Peace I have found.
Trying so Hard
to Trust
that What I've given to God
Will be Cared For
by He Who invented the Concept of Care.
I know He Cares for Me.
But it is so difficult
for One such as I,
to not Grasp, Frantically,
For Control ...
And, yet, I Don't.
I wait,
for Him
to Act through others,
so that I may Know
My Options.
I have done All that I can Do.
And Now I Wait;
on You, Lord.
EAT Well,
PRAY Constantly,
SWEAT often,
Be (in)credible,
LOVE unconditionally.
These are my Goals, my Purpose.
God, You Are So Amazing!
As I see You in that Glorious Flash
of heat lightening;
I sit here
Completely balanced
Between Fear of the Unknown
And Peace in the Knowledge
that You are my Father,
And You know my Heart.
Completely ... Balanced.
Wow ......
What a Long Way I have Come.
(c)2010jsblankenship
As I sit here aside
My Bay;
I look across from the Gandy
past the Howard-Franklin --
Bridges that Span your Depth --
And I see a darkened Wall
in the sky and think:
'...It's raining over in Clearwater...'
Then I realize:
I know This place,
it's Nature,
More than I do
My place of Birth.
My Birth-city is Identified
by It's People and their Insecurities
(Centuries and Generations of Class and Color).
This Place the I've grown to Love,
is identified
by The Weather,
It's inhabitants,
and Their Passions.
I sit Here in Limbo;
trying Very Hard
to Maintain this
Peace I have found.
Trying so Hard
to Trust
that What I've given to God
Will be Cared For
by He Who invented the Concept of Care.
I know He Cares for Me.
But it is so difficult
for One such as I,
to not Grasp, Frantically,
For Control ...
And, yet, I Don't.
I wait,
for Him
to Act through others,
so that I may Know
My Options.
I have done All that I can Do.
And Now I Wait;
on You, Lord.
EAT Well,
PRAY Constantly,
SWEAT often,
Be (in)credible,
LOVE unconditionally.
These are my Goals, my Purpose.
God, You Are So Amazing!
As I see You in that Glorious Flash
of heat lightening;
I sit here
Completely balanced
Between Fear of the Unknown
And Peace in the Knowledge
that You are my Father,
And You know my Heart.
Completely ... Balanced.
Wow ......
What a Long Way I have Come.
(c)2010jsblankenship
Monday, August 23, 2010
Bay 4
I know I will miss My Bay
Especially during Tropical Season.
When the hint
or the Threat
Of a Storm is Looming.
I will Miss The Swells in her Belly
The Motion of Longing and Depth
I will Miss the Slaps of her Waves
on the Wall holding back her Strength.
The Well-abused Palms
That line her Shores
Stand strong
Knowing when and where
to Bend in the Wind
So not to Break.
A Lesson that Came Hard for me
But Learned indeed:
"Bend as One, Strong;
Don't Break, as Many
Seem to do."
I hope the Rolling Hills
and Pines I claimed to miss
Don't cause me
To feel Shut in,
As I will Remember the Freedom
Of My Bay.
(c)2010jsblankenship
Especially during Tropical Season.
When the hint
or the Threat
Of a Storm is Looming.
I will Miss The Swells in her Belly
The Motion of Longing and Depth
I will Miss the Slaps of her Waves
on the Wall holding back her Strength.
The Well-abused Palms
That line her Shores
Stand strong
Knowing when and where
to Bend in the Wind
So not to Break.
A Lesson that Came Hard for me
But Learned indeed:
"Bend as One, Strong;
Don't Break, as Many
Seem to do."
I hope the Rolling Hills
and Pines I claimed to miss
Don't cause me
To feel Shut in,
As I will Remember the Freedom
Of My Bay.
(c)2010jsblankenship
Friday, February 19, 2010
Bay 3
Glass again at Mid-Day
Awaiting ...
For what does she wait?
The temporary Harvesters
to sink a line to take Life
from her Depths?
Awaiting, Perhaps a Ripple
from a Stone?
Isolated quietly
From the ominous cousins of her existence
The Gulf, the Sea,
The world at large.
Be it so that I might still Myself
Not unlike that Heart of Hers.
And so, I am like her ... still.
Awaiting; and not
Receeding.
She and I awaiting a Warmth
A warmth she senses from the Sun,
She feels it on her Mouth
and Fills her Belly with Peace.
A Warmth rising from the South
to stir her Waters,
to Stir my passions
Deeply, steadily.
The ebb and flow --
of life
of Love
of Sea and Land --
Cycles; as in
A Dance, a Chorus
In Harmony
In Unison
In Solo Eloquently.
We await, she and I
For Spring
to Swell and fill our Hearts again.
(c)2010jsblankenship
Awaiting ...
For what does she wait?
The temporary Harvesters
to sink a line to take Life
from her Depths?
Awaiting, Perhaps a Ripple
from a Stone?
Isolated quietly
From the ominous cousins of her existence
The Gulf, the Sea,
The world at large.
Be it so that I might still Myself
Not unlike that Heart of Hers.
And so, I am like her ... still.
Awaiting; and not
Receeding.
She and I awaiting a Warmth
A warmth she senses from the Sun,
She feels it on her Mouth
and Fills her Belly with Peace.
A Warmth rising from the South
to stir her Waters,
to Stir my passions
Deeply, steadily.
The ebb and flow --
of life
of Love
of Sea and Land --
Cycles; as in
A Dance, a Chorus
In Harmony
In Unison
In Solo Eloquently.
We await, she and I
For Spring
to Swell and fill our Hearts again.
(c)2010jsblankenship
Bay 2
She's quiet tonight
on my trek back Home
Quiet and Still
as Death
Smooth as Glass
and Deep as my Soul
She calms me yet makes it easy
To afford my Tears
If I could simply Touch beyond her surface
And mark her Quiet with a Ripple
of Love
Someone across the Water
Could breathe life into a Sail
and Embark on the Journey
That would change all that they ever
Knew,
and Believed about their Wondrous existence.
(C)2010jsblankenship
on my trek back Home
Quiet and Still
as Death
Smooth as Glass
and Deep as my Soul
She calms me yet makes it easy
To afford my Tears
If I could simply Touch beyond her surface
And mark her Quiet with a Ripple
of Love
Someone across the Water
Could breathe life into a Sail
and Embark on the Journey
That would change all that they ever
Knew,
and Believed about their Wondrous existence.
(C)2010jsblankenship
Bay 1
The Bay pulses
like that of
a Resting Heart,
this morning.
High tide early I supposed
the skies grey
blending five shades lighter
with the beating heart of
this town;
this town on Water's edge.
No waves,
no caps of White
No swells of movement at all
to Suggest the Life below.
Only the slow Rhythmic
Beat of the Aqueous heart.
As I ride its belly, busily on my way.
How I long to linger here
by her side
and Absorb her Rhythm of Peace.
(c)2010jsblankenship
like that of
a Resting Heart,
this morning.
High tide early I supposed
the skies grey
blending five shades lighter
with the beating heart of
this town;
this town on Water's edge.
No waves,
no caps of White
No swells of movement at all
to Suggest the Life below.
Only the slow Rhythmic
Beat of the Aqueous heart.
As I ride its belly, busily on my way.
How I long to linger here
by her side
and Absorb her Rhythm of Peace.
(c)2010jsblankenship
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