On Steps 4&5

Freedom from the past, new life, recovery

Step 4 Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 Admitted to G*d, ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
-from the twelve steps of alcoholics anonymous

Shame and secrets in our hearts and memories
Thorny strangling vines
Choking the growth in our life
tiny fragile green shoots
trying to grow beauty from ashes
Heavy like a pocket full of stones
we carry always
Resisting the urge
Weighted down
to jump off bridges, out of windows
Needing only
To reach out
Is G*d in others
to help us pull the weeds away
to carry some of our stones for us?
To help us toss them
blithely away
To hear them splash
Sinking into the depths
To let fresh air and sunlight
and gentle rain into our hearts
So we can easily climb down
from the bridges, the ledges
Light as air
And walk serenely away
In our new skin
Free

Reviews

[Gee]

Congratulations on having the courage to face up to your demons.
Hope you are well

[JR]

Love the progression with this, from the ledges and weedy places, the deep low places in ourselves, into letting it go and walking free as a new person. I really enjoyed your imagery, "Choking the growth in our life / tiny fragile green shoots / trying to grow beauty from ashes," wow, that is particularly vivid, and really helps the reader fall into the poem. The idea of God being found in others... I like that idea, as we sometimes need both the divine as well as friends to pull us through things we don't have the strength to get through alone. Thoughtful piece, and I really enjoyed it.

[usefulcat9]

Thank you so much! This is what was running through my head all last night.:)

[usefulcat9]

Also, I shared your poem with a friend:) good stuff!

[JR]

Sounds like we both have nighttime poetry running through our heads. That’s good, I love it when a poem comes that way, feels more pure.

[usefulcat9]

Yes, like it's just ready to get out of your head and into the world.