6 Poems by James Farwell, Including “Liberation” and “Transformation”

Liberation

Oh, to experience the liberation
from storylines,
distorted beliefs,
along with the
inherent suffering of it all…
Finally, to be
and live and express my
Essence, who I really am,
being one with myself…
Speaking from the voice
of Presence, trusting in
the expression of this voice
and what I am moved to share…
There is joy
in bringing Awareness
to what is,
in the now,
in this moment,
with each breath and heartbeat,
of a life truly lived.

Coming Home

Being told that what I feel
and who I am is not OK…
That if I would only change and fit in,
our home would be a happy place…

Such pronouncements created storylines
that for years, defined who I was…
Oh, the anguish and loneliness
of such a primary sense of betrayal…

Often, as an adult, I would revisit
my archetypal sense of shame,
reliving the profound sadness,
of being innately flawed…

Finally, a miraculous gift
and insight, something feeling like
a moment of realization and rebirth,

I am no longer my inner critic, that negative voice I hear…
Who I am is the awareness that observes and witnesses my
thoughts and feelings…

Imbued with this assurance,
I, in my newfound awareness,
can live without the shadowy afterthoughts
of self-doubt and defensiveness
that have plagued me all my life…

Crossing the bridge from emotional bondage,
coming home… awakening to my Essence, as it radiates from within
and casts its light on all who share in its Presence.

A Eulogy for the Living

Death is a sobering reminder of our vulnerability and finiteness…
Someone’s passing is an affirmation that our time has limits,
and that someday, we too will no longer exist as we do now…

Is life a short-lived tease that exposes us to the potentials of beauty,
love and fulfillment, only to have it snatched from our midst?

Our often fitful paradox is that only by our being alive
are we able to contemplate death’s impending finality and the
impermanence of life.

How we view death influences how we live our lives and
find purpose and meaning for ourselves.

Our time is a brief season…
One of death’s lessons is that our moments can so easily be
taken for granted…
It is assumed that there will always be another tomorrow.

Each day is the pathway along which we travel until we leave this
place…

The shell that once contained an animated life,
a home filled with warmth and spontaneity, ceases to exist…
The aliveness that was once present is gone,
and death’s cold, rigid stillness is all that remains
in the bed or casket that lies before us…

Regardless of how we may prepare ourselves for this final event,
the impact of death’s finality has a profoundness all its own.

Our memories become our connection with our departed loved one…
Their place in our lives remains within us
as we remember their mannerisms,
the sound of their voice, the image of their face,
the feel of their touch,
those things that brought joy and sadness to their lives.

Our emptiness is the void that their physical absence has created…
We ache and long for them to be present with us once again…
In time, it is the remembrance of those things that were dear to them,
the shared moments that touched our lives, that will warm us in our
seasons of loneliness and moments of reflection.

Our loved one has a permanent home in our heart, and
we have been transformed by the gift of their presence in our life.

Being One With the Search

The tree-inspired shadows and dancing white foam…
The sun-sparkling wet rocks,
multiple canvases of beauty with a slight
change of a glance…

The clear, cold waters rush by…
Below its surface, the stream houses colourful treasures,
multicoloured rocks, watchful wise trout
and
maybe gold,
a flake here, a nugget somewhere.

Placing sand and rocks in a gold pan,
dipping the pan with its magical contents into
the cool waters and moving it about…

Many swashes of the stream reduce the pan’s
contents to dark-coloured sand,
if you’re lucky.

And then, the mystery unfolds…

Do we find a fleck, or none at all?

The goal is being one with the search,
living the excitement of the find…

And then you begin anew,
looking at what is
in search of what might be,
enjoying all that is required
of this moment in life.

Transformation

The dark, depressed
atmosphere of oppression and death
that has been created by the
alienation and disregard for one another
evaporates when two individuals decide
that our children need internet access,
to be joined together with other
young people, to be able to learn
in their virtual school experience
during this pandemic…
The news of this act of kindness
brought tears to my eyes and a sense
of relief from the oppressive atmosphere
and greed-oriented ways of those
who could have made a difference
and chose not to.

Acknowledgment

Being genuinely acknowledged…
Feeling as though we are seen and heard…
Knowing from the depths of our being
that our suffering
has been embraced either by a
fellow traveller along our pathway
through life,
or by our own source
of inner kindness…
Experiencing a relieving of our angst
of feeling alone, empty, ashamed…
The soothing salve of completion,
being at one with all that we are,
Knowing the peace of simply being.

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