Burning A Bristly Relationship

I watered the bush each day
that I had water.
I shone all the light on it
that I found in me,
and said, “See how well it grows!”

Our relationship grew thorns that tangled in the arid heat,
and resilient prickers in the rain of my tears.
It shadowed my heart.
Its roots plugged my veins,
and died at midnight.

Its skeleton in me:
tinder flared
fire flashed.
Recovery blew away ash.
I see a world beyond.

Burning Relationship
Image credits:
Burning Brush, by Grace Buchanan. Composition elements:
Flames and Brush, by Michael Pollak. Used under Creative Commons License BY-2.0.
Apfelbaum in Alberschwende, by böhringer friedrich. Used under Creative Commons License BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Happy Mental Health Month!

May is Mental Health month here. I am practicing dealing with my anger:

Don’t tell anyone what to do
Get in touch with what I am feeling and what I’m wanting
Tell someone how I’m feeling
Focus on what I can do to get what I want

Grace Buchanan Audiobooks

May 1, 2015

Creativity, Mental Health

anger, poem, relationships

17 responses to “Burning A Bristly Relationship”

Ker Metanoia

May 1, 2015 at 10:02 pm

I am practicing dealing with anger too! I have been irritable for quite some time now. I’m trying to learn to have peace from within, how to think about and understand the other first, and how to communicate how I feel without hurling hurtful words.

Happy Mental Health Month! 😀 I’ll join you in the celebration even if we don’t have that here. 😀

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1. WeaverGrace
  
  May 1, 2015 at 10:46 pm
  
  Funny how the nicest people find the need to deal with anger 🙂 I, too, have a heck of a time communicating how I feel. How I feel becomes increasingly elusive as my anger surges; I wind up confused! Then, I can’t hear a single word that the other is saying; all I hear is distorted messages.
  
  “Peace within”. I love it. That is worth fostering as we work on our mental health. I send peace-filled smiles to brighten your upcoming afternoon.
  
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  1. Ker Metanoia
    
    May 2, 2015 at 2:03 am
    
    That happens to me too! I also can’t hear what the other says, but in my case, I think it’s because I become selective in hearing when I’m angry. :p But when I summon calmness then I can listen again.
    
    Thank you Grace! A peaceful morning to you! 😀
    
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ChristineR

May 2, 2015 at 12:35 am

Hello Grace. Thanks for your visits to my google+ (where I keep forgetting to go). I was wondering when our Mental Health Week is, because I know we do have one. Turns out it is the same week as the annual World Mental Health Day in October.

Your words and image are really in sync with each other. Perfect. 🙂 All the best.

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1. WeaverGrace
  
  May 2, 2015 at 7:52 am
  
  Dear Christine, thanks for looking into when a more global event is. I am finding a soap box under my feet as I read how people are celebrating Mental Health Month/Week/Day in this country: by using “mental health” as synonymous with “mental illness”, thus talking about how to deal with the stigma against “mental health”. The semantics are driving me crazy! Now that you pointed out that the U.S. is not in sync with the rest of the world, I hope that in October I will see more sensible use of the attention.
  
  Thanks for your compliment on the syncing of the words and image. As I was writing the poem, and describing the situation to some friends, the resulting image is pretty close to what I had in my head. I had fun reproducing it.
  
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  1. ChristineR
    
    May 3, 2015 at 10:27 pm
    
    Wow, you made the image with your poem? Impressed! 😀
    
    You made me stop and think about the relationships between “mental health” and “mental illness”. Off the top of my head, I would expect the latter to be part of the former, which encompasses all things relating to mental function and everyday well-being?
    
    Our Foundation says about the week: “Mental Health Week aims to activate, educate and engage Victorians about mental health through a week of interactive events across the state including an official launch, community festivals, art exhibitions, music, theatre and seminars.”
    &
    “Every organisation participating in Mental Health Week adds to the ongoing process of enlightenment about the nature of mental illness and the achievability of good mental health.”
    
    They have a page: Mental Health Explained – with the headings: Defining Mental Illness, Coping, Impact on others, Understanding Frustration, Helplessness and Anxiety, Blame and guilt, Stigma, Gaining Knowledge, Facts
    
    The media are a law unto themselves. No wonder you are frustrated. Take care.
    
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The Sunday Wrap: May 3, 2015 (New Rules – share your friends’ blogs also!) | The Seeker's Dungeon

May 3, 2015 at 5:43 pm

[…] Burning A Bristly Relationship – Weaver Grace […]

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Sreejit Poole

May 3, 2015 at 5:49 pm

I also have to practice dealing with my anger. Part of my problem is naturally assuming the worst, when the worst is most often not actually the case. Have gotten a lot better over the years but it still flares, and is a site to behold.

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1. WeaverGrace
  
  May 3, 2015 at 6:05 pm
  
  You made me laugh. I don’t hear the actual words that someone is saying to me when I feel angry. Like you, I am assuming the worst, and often misinterpreting what they said. I did it just the other day when I read an email while I was disgruntled about something else, and completely misread it, thinking that the person had misunderstood and insulted me, when she was actually acknowledging and praising me!
  
  I hope you are taking good care of yourself, in spite of keeping such late (early?) hours tonight.
  
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wbdeejay

May 4, 2015 at 7:32 pm

Reblogged this on Of Love and Loss and commented:

Grace’s poem connected with me today. Describing a place I am yet to be. But her words below give me a true focus.

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1. WeaverGrace
  
  May 5, 2015 at 2:55 pm
  
  Thank you for sharing my poem with your readers. I’m glad that you and I connect. May you see the light shining through your words.
  
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Judith Ann Henry

May 5, 2015 at 1:39 pm

Dearest Grace,

This is quite an exquisite poem…thank you so much for sharing it…..

i know i can identify with the “bristly” and the “clogged veins”….

and still struggle with the looking beyond…..

One of my favorite lines : Our relationship grew thorns that tangled in the arid heat,
and resilient prickers in the rain of my tears.

is master/full/mistress/full from your soul.

You are so much a poet my friend~~~~~~

Blessings from all of our trails and directions,

me and all the clans 💛💚💙💜💗💜

Spring healings from all of the directions

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1. WeaverGrace
  
  May 5, 2015 at 2:41 pm
  
  Dearest Judith, after such glowing words from such a discriminating reader, I feel driven to consider submitting this poem for publication to a larger audience. I welcome any suggestions.
  
  Spring Healings to you and yours from all directions. Thank you for all of your healing blessings. I am committing more deeply than ever to living with less stress: more effectively avoiding situations that raise my stress level, and going easier on my expectations of myself.
  
  Thank you also for your rainbow hearts (how do you do that?).
  
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The Sunday Wrap: May 10, 2015 | The Seeker's Dungeon

May 9, 2015 at 10:38 pm

[…] Burning A Bristly Relationship – Weaver Grace […]

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windowcolquhoun810

July 18, 2015 at 1:52 am

Your poem is beautifully descriptive of the feelings of anger and frustration Grace. 👍🏻
I rarely lose my cool and until a year ago, thought I had a relatively anger-free existence. Until an acquaintance kept needling me with sarcasm and ambiguous comments. It got to me and try as hard as I did, I couldn’t shake the feelings of confusion, bewilderment and anger. It took a while for me to realise that she was ‘controlling’ me like a puppeteer. I knew I couldn’t handle her sarcasm as I get tongue-tied when it happens. After a lot of soul-searching, I decided to find something nice about her to ‘like’ and in doing so, I realised how blessed I am in many, many ways and that she has had traumas in her life. Counting my blessings helped immensely and my anger evaporated. Amazing!
Keep up the good work Grace. 🌹🌹🌹 Btw, the rainbow hearts are available via the iPad.

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1. WeaverGrace
  
  July 18, 2015 at 3:17 am
  
  Wendy! So nice to see your smiling face! Thank you for giving such thought to how this poem relates to your life. And thank you for sharing your thoughts. And thank you for the pretty flowers that must come from your iPad. 💞💓💘💜💝💚💙💜💙💛💚💜💛❤💖❤💖💗💟💛💟💛 You prompted me to find Android hearts. Thanks 💃👧
  
  I was shocked a couple times when someone close to me exclaimed that I was holding a lot of anger. The first time, I responded by drawing anger, and discovered that my anger was fear of being hurt. I was also afraid of hurting others with my anger.
  
  I’m sorry that you wound up in the sites of someone who can be so unpleasant. I can imagine your surprise at your vulnerability to such comments. You reminded me of a boss who spoke similarly to me, and I felt jerked around like a puppet. I sympathized with her apparent misery that must have caused such behavior. I can imagine the power of finding something to like about her. What a great strategy!
  
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  1. windowcolquhoun810
    
    July 18, 2015 at 4:29 am
    
    Thank you for your encouraging response Grace. I agree, it was challenging and it took me nigh on a year (on and off) to get to a state of ‘grace.’ Lol!
    You must have had fun with the hearts. Love the flamenco dancer! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 😄
    
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