Graceful Swallows

Blood Lines Poem 30

We don’t have to be fighters.

We don’t have to battle our cancers

on poppy fields of past wars and legacies.

We could love ourselves for who we are

and wonder at what life expects of us.

Let’s share our fears, listening to those of others.

Time does not stop in our reality.

The sun still rises and travels across the sky,

allowing us to walk through shadow and light,

over fells and moors,

in oak woods and becks.

Time calls the graceful swallows away

back to the shores of winter homes.

Their seasonal beauty adds meaning and purpose

to our wild and precious lives.

The graceful swallows with their call of freedom

remind us that we still belong, and, we are

irreplaceable, inimitable, loving beings.

This poem came about serendipitously. It was inspired by the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver and, a response to her famous question, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” But I loved seeing the photos of two friends and their summer alpine walk. The light and shadows struck me and I realised how much I love the interaction between weather and mountains. The nature references are about the Lake District. I noticed the swallow in the Flynne’s Barn logo and thought this needed acknowledgement.

Thank you so much for reading my Blood Lines poetry. With love, Juliet@CreativeSTAR xxx

Flynne’s Barn is a place where young people living with cancer can come together and find connection in beautiful surroundings and provides a range of immersive outdoor and creative experiences. I am sharing one poem per day during September 2022 to raise money for this charity. To DONATE, visit my GO FUND ME page. Many thanks.