(Poem 41 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

How many inner yous are holding you hostage?
Fragmented, conflicted, factions at war inside,
causing loneliness and friction in the soul.
Why must you be a jail keeper of your shadow-
selves, instead of a liberator through listening?
Your prisoners are tapping messages on the wall,
pleading with you to respond, show any sign,
become a part of the life-giving conversation.
The only way to defuse the bomb that is you
is to release old pain that has been stored
like dry dynamite waiting to be lit by anger,
to meet and greet these guests in your realm,
recognize their perspectives, and welcome them
to heal while safely residing at your table.
Release them from the dungeons where you
keep them bound and let them drag their
weary selves to the banquet room, their ragged
clothes falling away to be replaced by robes
of shimmering silk, velvet, and lace.

@Genuine Joe’s – 41^st poem of the year

Chopra, Deepak. The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons for Creating the Life You Want. New York, United States of America, Harmony Books, 1995, pp.71-79.