Category: old age

moment out of time

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn aging, body, Daily reminders, dogs, fear, Musings, old age, pain, Poetry, storiesLeave a comment

moment out of time

walking the path
watching the dogs
fly over the field,
I pitch forward
nose grinds the dirt
and grit in my mouth
hard landing
on last year’s titanium

pain ratchets through
I lie there   waiting
on the old body’s report
warily flex my banged hand
repaired wrist seems to work
rotate the shoulder
it throbs
but no spiking spear

then my husband
by my side
sweetie, what happened
take it slow
I unfold on the ground
with the help his hand
make it up on my feet
nothing broken
scrapes and bruises
badly shaken

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

but unique

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, beauty, children, Daily reminders, death, family, friends, gratitude, Love, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, old age, paradox, pathless path, PoetryLeave a comment

but unique

yes, we seem different
it doesn’t have to mean
trouble

your world prefers spicy
mine, calmer fare
you grow red beans
I favor rice
you pray to Krishna
I, the ineffable
yet we all
love our children
we age and we die

so what do you say—
may I learn from you
and you from me?

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

the wish

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, beauty, death, gratitude, light, Musings, nature, Non-duality, notes from self, old age, Poetry, prayer, spirituality4 Comments

the wish

as I get old
this wish grows strong

leave no trace
no name

no gravestone
no place to be found

but in squirrel play
and billowing clouds

slant light spilling
through birch on the hill

crickets and frogsong
the chorus at twilight

spring breezes touch
and the creek’s steady fall

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

life backwards

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, family, feelings, gratitude, grief, kindness, Love, Musings, notes from self, old age, parenting, Poetry6 Comments

this poem came from a prompt in a class
with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer:
Write the history of your life as if it’s a film,
and you are watching it in reverse.

life backwards

she’s old
seventy-eight,
a long, long history
yet life is opening
thrown wide by poems

at sixty-six
she left the northwest
returned to California
where she had raised
her lame son
oh, the heartbreak

but at forty-two
met her love
they married, still are—
happy after
three failed marriages
where she learned
what she needed
at great cost
to her heart:
kindness
support
non-judgment
unconditional love

at twenty-five
discovered her path
after the hard lessons
of atheist parents
who squashed her

when she was four
betrayed by a grownup
she thought was a friend
draining trust
a break in belonging

yet she found her way
a late bloomer, thriving—
transformed pain
into remedy
mended the bowl of herself
with rivulets of gold
living kintsugi

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

ordinary moment

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, beauty, communion, Daily reminders, emotion, family, feelings, grief, heart, home, Love, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, old age, Poetry, questions, simple pleasures4 Comments

ordinary moment

cloud color fades—
now my husband
the family cook
stirs what’s simmering
before settling
in his recliner
the aroma wraps us

we share a ginger beer
crackers and smoked
oysters
chat about the day
as we have 12,000 times

he rises to check the stove
brushes my shoulder
with his fingertip
oh, the commonplace

how many more?

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

each day

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, body, Breath, Daily reminders, dogs, gratitude, heart, home, joy, kindness, Love, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, old age, pathless path, Poetry, spirituality2 Comments

each day

each day is a holy place —John O’Donohue

this wonder
rising in the dark
heart beating
welcoming words
soft back-and-forth

pup stretches
warm nose
squinty eyes
squeaky yawn
a sleepy greeting

the deep dark
moist air after first
autumn sprinkle
cold and fresh
sparkles me awake

two old people
loving each other
one dancing pup
all long-legged
vigor and juice

another day
in our common
everyday home
right here
a holy place

love carries us

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, body, chilla/test, Daily reminders, death, feelings, gratitude, grief, heart, light, Love, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, old age, pain, Poetry, spirituality, SurrenderLeave a comment

love carries us

if we allow it
love carries us

that’s the trick
allowing

easy
when the sun sparkles
the temperate air
and all is well
in our domain

when pain comes
as it will
embodied life, after all
frame wears out
big losses loom

rest on that love
like a surf board

riding a wave
toward shore

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

attentiveness

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, body, Daily reminders, feelings, gratitude, loss, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, old age, pathless path, Poetry, simple pleasures2 Comments

attentiveness

attentiveness is the natural prayer —Nicolas Malebranche

wake before dawn
plant feet on the floor
rising from bed
I wiggle my toes
attend to my balance

my body’s old
my steady companion
it’s served me so well
now forethought’s required
a kind of heedfulness

when I was younger
I ran headlong into life
bucking hay bales
thrown off horses
no regard to the price

now acuity is compulsory
I think of it as prayer
this softens the blow
of old age—body and I
in this together

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.