ten poems to set you free- here's one.

Self-Portrait

by David Whyte

It doesn't interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling forward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequences of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.

I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.

FANTASTIC poem! It sums up the message I have been trying to spread; trusting yourself, just like the poem The Journey by Mary Oliver.

And I bring up this poem in particular because it is the first in a series of ten, as the title of the post suggests. It is contained in a novel named ten poems to set you free (click the title to purchase on Amazon) written by Roger Housden. FANTASTIC book! The very first poem got me hooked!

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