“Washed Ashore”

“Washed Ashore”

Storms Blow & Churn

The Captain Trembles

No Controlling Her

This Fierce Mother

Tumbled by Wind & Sea

All Safety Capsizes

Swallowed in Blue Expanse

Drifting Fathoms Deep

A Resurfacing Buoy

Now Dashed to Pieces

Every Wave’s Crash

Saturate Bones in Brine

Lungs of Seaweed

Scream for Sunlight

Flailing, Sinking Down

Into Watery Grave

Port a Wishful Dream

Harbor Miles Away

In Complete Surrender

The Captain Lets Go

Floating in Darkness

Releasing All Hope

The Illusion of Fear

Dissolves into Emptiness

If Resting is Death

Then Let it Be.

Silence, Stillness

Riding the Currents

Sailor with No Ship

Stripped to the Core

Daylight Breaks

Land Emerges

Spit Out Like a Pebble

Reborn in Sandy Grit

Infinite Reverence

For the Giver of Life

The Gift of Breath

A Vow of Change

No More Control

Separateness Begone

Only Love For All

Unconditional

-By Kristin Vander Linde

About the Creation of this Poem:

This poem came to me in contemplation on a recent hurricane that passed through the area where I was living, when at the same time, I experienced a strong mental storm of difficult emotions, decisions, and realizations.

I wrote this poem to illustrate how I have felt on my own spiritual journey of healing.

The near-death experience of the Captain during a fierce storm depicts the many times I find myself struggling to come up for air from the emotional and mental storms in my own mind. The journey I undergo daily is the fight of the ego to control life, to be in charge of reality, to know exactly what to do all the time, and have everything go its way. Then comes the feelings of pain and agony in fighting, the stress and tension, the suffering, and finally the total release, and surrendering into what is, into reality, just as it is.

Some days this journey is more subtle and short-lived, some times it is very pronounced, a huge struggle, and goes on all day long, but either way it has become a major theme of my spiritual path, to recognize and release this fight, which I know so many beings can relate to! I feel this poem is a universal journey for all experiencing life.

We have each been through heartache and pain, loosing what we feel defines us, feeling unsatisfied, not getting what we feel we need, and trying to make things go our way- to no avail. At the same time, we can recognize the freedom in complete and total rebirth, where we change every aspect of our being, doing, feeling, and thinking. I feel these commonalities of suffering and freedom unite us all on the path of life. That we are in fact not seperate from one another, but are actually integrally interconnected on the journey home to completeness, to oneness with ourselves, each other, and the entire world.

Upon reflecting, I feel the deep lesson for times like these in my life, and all of humanity, is that our storms do pass, our seas eventually do calm, and that our hardships happen in order to be transformed into wisdom. In this transformation, we land on the solid ground of peace, clarity, humbleness, and unconditional love.

May we all bask in the warmth of love, and surrender to the perfection of our journey. May we all be truly happy and content.