Divining Poets~Oracle inspiration from Lucille Clifton
In honor of Black History Month, I’ve pulled a Quote for us from Tracy K. Smith’s “Divining Poets Clifton” Quotable Oracle Deck
Hello!
It’s Groundhog Day today! Well, yesterday 😂
In case anyone missed it, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow & predicted six more weeks. And are we surprised? I mean, do we not know it’s dark out there? (And yet, 🤔 how does one come to see a shadow?) Goshhhhh So Much Fodder here!!! I know you can see it!! I know you intuitively, plainly know that in order to see a shadow, there must be a Light Source, and there must also be something blocking that Light source, yes? 🤯
Shadows, Light Sources!! Blockers!! I could dive right in here & perhaps I will come back to this, but in the spirit of not starting another thing that I tangentially turn into confusion soup & then don’t send to you🤓😂~
I am going to resist the urge to delve here today.
I will however ask you to consider, “What is blocking your Light?”
I will ask us~Can we perhaps trust that like the moon, even when we don’t feel it, our Light is still there? Just like Her, Our light will return. ✨
Oh, & in case no one has looked at the sky lately, PLEASE!
Do bundle up & get out there! Venus 🌟was beaming out her glory right next to a Crescent 🌙 sized moon Big & Bright enough to hold all of our Hopes!
And other planets too! We can look at them with our naked eyes. Naked. There’s a word to plumb, eh!😉
But back to my missive at hand~
We are still in the dawn of the Chinese New Year (1/29), & the yawn of the Lunar New Year (which began on 1/29). The feast of Imbolc & the feast of St. Brigid’s commenced just a the day before yesterday. I wrote in a too long note about this already. 🤪 I wrote how I learned that the Catholic Jubilee will be celebrated while my youngest daughter is in Rome on her school trip in just a couple of weeks.
Am I thrilled that she will be among millions of pilgrims who’ve voyaged over oceans in search of special grace & forgiveness? Not really reader. Not really. But another subject for another time. (See my Notes if you want to learn a little bit more about any of these celebrations, seasons, traditions…)
Like so many of you, I have been carrying a heaviness, a helpless horror that feels unbearable at times. There are the world’s unspeakables & then our own sorrows, wounds & burdens. And yet, here we are bearing. I think of all those who have come before me, all the battered backs I stand upon & next to, stories I’ve not yet heard, of bravery & sacrifice.
This is Not to compare suffering & shame myself further into shock, but rather in solidarity, to remind me of our common Source, that of our Creator & to remember what’s possible, how we can endure.
I think of those I treasure now, those I hold a responsibility to, a want of nurturing; to care for & be with, awake & alive, while they are still here in my life. Genuinely, this is a lot. At least it is for me. While I do have some tools & practices that help me when I’m floundering, & others I use daily, I won’t pretend to have anything all figured out. Does anyone?
I do think it helps to believe in our own Divine Light Source✨ though.
I think it helps to understand:
So many things can block our Light, obscure or shadow.
I do think it helps to Remember:
Still, Our Light remains.
I’m also coming to really Lean In to looking for the glimmers~any & everywhere when my own light is temporarily obscured:
Fireflies, cracks in the wall, a hole in the dark cave.
Some of my Current Fireflies ✨are:
Poems, quotes, stumbled into stories, laughter, long exhales, laying on my belly crocodile style, walks in the woods, yummy soups, warm drinks, soft sweaters, music suited for my moods, journaling with a pilot g-2 0.7😂, pulling Tarot, lighting candles, tending plants, reading real books, crunching on cinnamon peanut butter ‘purely elizabeth’ grain-free granola, silly shower dancing, or rubbing sugared body scrub all over myself🤭, resourcing daily from my nervous system portal for moms with Sarah Tacy, tuning in at least weekly to my “Wild Writing group” with Laurie Wagner, practicing the craft of writing in
& all the sweet souls there, noticing how the snow’s sticking to the trees again, how it can look like a snow globe out my sliding glass door, noticing how the geese huddle to lay in the snow, [wondering with my oldest daughter, driving home from our little overnight, “Why do so many gather there?” Does anyone know? Thinking how I must look into this!]I notice how bending & stretching my body, my mind, my heart; how my fireplace, my golden retriever, my Daddy, my children, my friends, you all~
right here can become at first a single firefly, but when clustered together, can fill my entire dark cave or forest with light, just like the long exposure photo taken by Tsuneaki Hiramatsu I saw shared by
just last night.And What a marvel! If this isn’t magic?
In the upcoming weeks, & months, I will be sharing all the other Substacks I source Light from, swim & splash around in. I am So Grateful for each one of them & for each one of you too!
Sometimes, when the Light gets in, angles just right, & shines so bright, it nearly blinds me! I remember that Sunflowers 🌻 face each other on cloudy days. I glance over to see the Sunflower & hovering Queen Bee 🐝 I just had tattooed on my left wrist as a totem. I am reminded how I selected it to symbolize more than one thing. (I’ll share with you more on Sunflowers & Bumblebees another time 😉)
Some days, after even a little firefly convening, after filling back up, I find I can source from my own “Source” again. I can feel my own fire, & its burning invites me to dip back into purpose-driven action. I don’t need to stay there until I burn out. No, I remind myself: “Please don’t do that.”
I start out, Try to remember: Just one tiny, doable step at a time.
And So for today!
✨Today I want to Honor Black History Month by Highlighting the Poet Lucille Clifton.✨ Just this Poet. Her words. Her Art.
Today my Firefly was to draw from this Quotable deck 👇🏻; to let it be my “Well.”
And I’m so Excited to bring this to you!
To bring this deck, this offering, this practice as…
“A Well” for you to drink from too! 😃 (See again, the brilliant Poet & Spiritual teacher, Mark Nepo.)
I want to share how simply pulling a card, or stumbling upon a quote can be like fireflies in the darkness; or perhaps hearing the buzz of a little Bee 🐝 that you decide to follow; one that leads you to a path unexpected, overflowing, full (perhaps of 🍯 honey, or maybe hornets 😟 eeks!)
But either way, an invitation to Discovery. Either way, an opportunity to invite wonder, possibility, flexibility, curiosity, creativity.
And All these things 👆 up there, like “Wonder,” they are Secret Keys🗝️ back home to our “Centered Selves.” (More on this to come soon).
I’ll share the Exact quote I pulled in just a moment, but first~the Process: I just received this Lucille Clifton deck Friday. I was so eager to dive in! I had places to be & things to do, but today was the day I opened this divining deck. I followed no instructions. Ha! I just randomly pulled a card. I didn’t ponder or ask a question ahead of time. Nope. I just lightly shuffled, spread the cards in my palms & picked the one that pulled me toward it without much fuss at all.
A Prelude on Water: If you’ve read my Notes “Thank You post” yesterday or my Newsletter Today, you will know I already wrote of “Art as a metaphor” for water; of it as “a well to drink from.” What you don’t know is that I have a whole other draft that expands upon this further, shares even more of what Mark Nepo has to say about how we can stay in touch with the world and ourselves; how to keep making our art; how to keep the channels clear, even when & no matter what; especially then, in fact.
I’ll be sharing this soon enough, so for now, I’ll just say: he used another simply stunning water metaphor; one I’d never heard of before.
But before I go any further,
Please Enjoy Today’s Lucille Clifton Quote from my card Pull:
Another Tidbit: I live roughly 40 miles from Niagara Falls. This particular quote, Oh, how it led me…
It led me to ponder all about water (more on *water* below) & Art in my life; to think about promises, & what it means to be plain. Then, I sat with “direct” for some while.
Wondered: Do I consider myself direct? If so, where? When? If not, why? Under what conditions do I avoid the direct route, prefer the long way instead? Pondered: When does this then lead me to adventure & when has it just been avoidance, some fear in disguise? I asked of myself: Where would I like to direct my time, my energy? In the pursuit of what passion, what purpose should I direct my path?
After all this, I searched out the home of these words, & found the Poem they live in: “further note to Clark” by Lucille Clifton
do you now how hard it is for me?
do you know what you're asking?
what i can promise to be is water,
water plain and direct as Niagara.
unsparing of myself, unsparing of
the cliff i batter, but also unsparing
of you, tourist. the question for me is
how long can i cling to this edge?
the question for you is
what have you ever traveled toward
more than your own safety? Lucille Clifton
WOW, huh?!
While I can’t ‘spend it all’ today dear reader, I will tell you that I did indeed gasp when I read: “how long can i cling to this edge?”
I’ll share with you too, that I also did wonder, “Was I the “you” in her final question?” I asked myself, “What have I “traveled toward?” “Ran from? Pursued in the name of safety? What have I protected more than myself?”
Yes, I thought about “Safety” as I so often do; how we’re built to “survive” & how that’s not the same as “thrive.” I thought of the ancient parts of you & me: coded, automatic, & billions of years old, how they turn our bodies into “No BS GPS’s” (credit to Sarah Tacy for the intro. to this expression); how they are there to act as our guides, our teachers, our friends.
With these words from Lucille, I thought & I wrote & I followed the fireflies.
I learned “the further note to clark” is the second of four “clark kent poems.” My curiosity then led me to the others. They are called the: “four Lucille Clifton notes to clark kent.” If you are also curious, would like to read, click here: Starting with “if i should,” & ending with “note passed to superman.”
HOLY! WOW!!! THESE POEMS!!! 🤯🦸🏾♀️ I hope you read them!
For me, So Many: “Wow! Oh, My’s!!!!”
But before I even got there, took space to bathe in their collective brilliance, before I could even peruse the poems together for all that they were, each on their own, & then as a whole~
I had personal, serendipitous insights with just the first alone! And what a delight to notice, look closer, discover!!
I Personally feel THIS. IS. SO. INCREDIBLE. I hope you do too!
Because I feel this strong pull to share the messages that came through for me. So hopefully not everyone is tired of the water metaphors already.😂
Either way is fine though, as this is all just an invitation.
Here’s the thing, when I get excited, I share. Ironically (or not, reader, you decide~ha!) it all rushes out of me! And sometimes, this happens all at once. It can feel like a force, uncontainable. It can feel just like rushing water. 😂 And sometimes, this is invigorating, an urgent thrum of “Yes! & More! & Now! & Then, at other times,
Well, other times, this can be discombobulating, disorienting, even distressing. Sometimes, everything at once can feel like I’m being water boarded, or drowning. (Can anyone here relate?)
Because well, instead of moving with the rushing gush of Niagara Falls, (as I so often do) I felt this quote say to me that sometimes I need to just stand under a warm, slow source; be able to turn around, with fingers in my hair, rinse a moment, before I open-mouthed, allow, take it in, possibly refreshed, or not & spew it all out.
It said to me that Sometimes, I need to soak, bathe, swim, whether in a creek, a river, or even an ocean. Sometimesss~I need to just float, eyes closed, or with the softest gaze, give myself the wildest of permissions to simply look upward a while, stare at the Moon & Venus, yes? How about you?
As I wrote yesterday & this morning, (not coincidentally I think, but more in line with driftwood perhaps? 🤔)~ sometimes I need my water to come from a well that I choose to visit; where I bring the water up just one bucket at a time.
Because I don’t know about you, but I don’t think any of us are always up for the rushing, gushing, white capped kind of ‘unrelenting fierce of a force’ that leaves us choking, & gasping for breath, are we? We don’t always, or maybe even ever have the readiness for white rapid rafting kinda water. We can’t always be Niagara water direct & impacting.
And then, Sometimes we CAN. Sometimes, we ARE ready. Sometimes that’s Just what we’re looking for! Sometimes, we DO have the energy, power, stamina, desire, resources, & inner calling even! But remember, sometimes maybe NOT. And I say: that’s More than OK. Because Not accepting our current “capacity” can mean that we jump in and risk our own drowning. And ill-prepared, un-resourced, well then, we all drown, now don’t we?
I think we all come with our own secret recipes,
maps, gifts, keys & destinies to pursue.
And while we will all hike up mountains, spend time in dark caves, walk miles through forests & deserts in all kinds of weather across every imaginable terrain; when we get to the water~ Please, let’s Pause. Let’s Feel. Let’s gather together. Let’s stand back a moment in AWE before we Choose our vessels; before we select which ship to steer, canoe to paddle, boat to board, or raft to ride.
Please let us each consider our resources, our current capacities, our individual “selves” as a vital part of the whole before we jump in the water.
Dear Reader, this entire letter is an offering, nothing more than an open invitation to consider, to wonder, to bathe in whatever comes up for you, perhaps swim around in it, but only if the temperature suits you. You get to decide.
I could write you for 27 more pages from 33 angles about Water & more specifically this quote, & its “home poem,” & my goodness, the whole collection~how stunning! However, I’m intentionally opting out of my own deeper analysis of what they mean together.
While I’ve been steering myself (us) gently away from harsh rapids, or at least considering the choice for smoother currents~
#thesepoems!! ~
WOW, IMO~Do know that I personally view them as just *that kind* of water~To me, her words are “Niagara direct” they carves rock, rush over cliffs, become a world wonder.
That’s all rather vague though, & I do know this, so I invite you to dig in to the specificity Lucille offers with her words. I am in awe of how she says so much with so little. (Obviously, this is not a strength for me, and so I marvel.) I invite you to notice what you think she’s saying, to whom, how it all fits, what it might mean for you personally. I simply cannot pretend to fathom this latter part.
Instead, I will close with some final thoughts about *WATER*:
I remember my Aries heart is a Fire Sign.🔥
Doing so, I smile realizing Water has A-LOT to teach me about:
PACE & FORCE; POWER, DIRECTION, NOURISHMENT & IMPACT.
I have remembered it is a VITAL RESOURCE. That Water can mean:
Hope, Purity, Community, Protection, Transformation, Change.
*WATER* represents LIFE itself. We are made of water. As Humans, we are 60% water. Our brains & hearts are roughly 73% water & our lungs 83%.
Water, for our bodies alone is: a life-cell builder, body temperature regulator, shock absorber, lubricator, vital nutrient deliverer, waste transporter. We could Not in fact live without water for more than 3 days.
Beyond all that water does within us, and for us physically, organically, chemically, water is SYMBOLIC, SPIRITUAL, ELEMENTAL
And now that we have all marveled at what Water can do?
I wonder, what can’t Water do?
Perhaps only what is left for Fire, Earth, Wind, Air, & Space.
Perhaps only what is left for us to do. 😉
What do you think?
Thank you for sharing time with me here! Your eyes on my words are the Heartbeat of my shares!
Xo,
Colleen
Wow!! Thank You So Much for the Re-Share🥰