I just read this poem for the first time as tears flow freely. Two days ago I discovered a new frontier of a childhood wound that felt like a gaping hole that wished to extinguish my spirit. It felt like I could drowned in that hole. Instead I choose to welcome and love that edge knowing that on the other side is infinite freedom and yes even Joy.
About 10 minutes later. After copious tears giggles are rising. This particular frontier felt effing hard. I actually had to come back and correct the statement because I had written it feels hard when the fact is the day it happened it felt impossible. And in this now I know I’ve got this.
THE EDGE YOU CARRY WITH YOU
You know
so very well
the edge
of darkness
you have
always
carried with you.
You know
so very well,
your childhood legacy:
that particular,
inherited
sense of hurt,
given to you
so freely
by the world
you entered.
And you know
too well
by now
the body’s
hesitation
at the invitation
to undo
everything
others seemed
to want to
make you learn.
But your edge
of darkness
has always
made
its own definition
secretly
as an edge of light
and the door
you closed
might,
by its very nature
be
one just waiting
to be leant against
and opened.
And happiness
might just
be a single step away,
on the other side
of that next
unhelpful
and undeserving
thought.
Your way home,
understood now,
not as an achievement,
but as a giving up,
a blessed undoing,
an arrival
in the body
and a full rest
in the give
and take
of the breath.
This living
breathing body
always waiting
to greet you
at the door,
always prepared
to give you
the rest you need,
always,
no matter
the long
years away,
still
wanting you,
to come home.
…
From ‘The Edge You Carry With You’
in ‘Still Possible’ David Whyte
Many Rivers Press Dec 1st 2021
Available on Pre-order
…
Standing at The Edge.
Photo © David Whyte
Land’s End. Golden Gate
San Francisco. November 21, 2021