Sandra Heska King

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Through and Through Life: Fresh Breath for My Very Soul

July 21, 2011 By Sandra Heska King

For me poetry and faith are interdependent. Each affects the other as they embrace and interpenetrate. Faith informs art, and art enhances faith. They both, for each other are breath for the bones. ~Luci Shaw in Breath for the Bones.

It’s more than breath for my dry bones, this.

It’s breath for my very soul, this writer’s droughted spirit.

My eyes are open once again,
and my heart does somersaults from neck to navel.

A rollercoaster rush.

Images explode, and I must find words and colors for this shaping deep,
this flame within.

I must capture them before they fade.

I pant like the goldfinch before it gulps from the bath.

 

 

Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth, And life itself exhaling that central breath! Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light! ~Eugenio Montale

Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. ~Matthew 6:22 (Message)

. . . both artist and believer must occupy themselves with seeing what is virtually unseeable, what the earthbound miss . . . By alertness to clues and causes, by listening with inner ears, by opening the eyes of the heart to perceive what surges beneath, within, beyond, they begin to draw the ineffable into the realm of experienced reality. ~Luci Shaw

I’m crazed by the sensations swirling within.

I’m wonder filled.

I’m seeing deep again.

I’m carried light like dandelion fluff.

Anything may make us look: a breaking wave, a train whistle, a plummeting gull, an amorous couple. But art and the vision of faith allow us to see. ~Luci Shaw

And today petaled butter melts me.

 

 

A dragonfly smiles and winks.

 

I catch the blur of a hummingbird’s wing.

 

 

A gaggle of geese swims in the soybeans.

 

 

I notice flowers field wide and wild waving in the hot wind.

 

 

Red peeks through green.

Bitty globes of hope.

 

 

And I forget the heavy heat as my eyes track a distracted butterfly.

 

 

I’m engulfed in the oven-baked goodness of Him.

And my heart is strangely warmed.

I’m joining the book club at The High Calling as we discuss Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination and Spirit: A Reflection on Creativity and Faith
by Luci Shaw.

Life is holy. And as we look at the foundations of the creative process as Luci Shaw describes them in part one of the book, we realize that as image-bearers of God, we create because He does. When we join with God in the creative process we are in a thin place—God draws near and the boundary between our earthly lives and the Divine becomes gauze; a diaphanous veil. ~Laura Boggess

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Go here to see how others are drawn into that holy and thin place.

Also linking with Bonnie Gray today in community as she asks the question,
“How is God challenging you to keep faith fresh?”

It’s through the slowing down and and the seeing. And the sharing.


FaithBarista_FreshJamBadgeG

 

And spilling these crumbs with sweet Emily.

 

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Filed Under: stories and reflections

Comments

  1. Lynn Mosher says

    July 21, 2011 at 8:36 pm

    Awesome, Sandra! As always! Your photos are wonderful! Thank you!

  2. Carol J. Garvin says

    July 21, 2011 at 9:03 pm

    I echo Lynn… awesome, as always. As I scrolled through them I stopped suddenly to smile at one that is so much like one that I have scheduled to post on my blog tomorrow… the field of wildflowers. Only mine are from a hillside seen on the way home from last week’s trip.

    I especially love that part of Luci’s quote: “…art and the vision of faith allow us to see” and also your, “engulfed in the oven-baked goodness of Him.” Wonderful post, Sandra.

  3. Cindee Snider Re says

    July 21, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    Sandra, your goldfinch and dragonfly photos are exquisite! Love the image of your heart somersaulting from neck to navel in an effort to describe what you’re seeing. A perfect description! Thanks for inspiring with your words and photos today. 🙂

  4. imperfect prose says

    July 21, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    oh sandra, my soul sings with yours… what a beautiful post. i can feel the lightness of your heart, the revival of your spirit. thank you… (and what gorgeous photos)

  5. laura says

    July 22, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    Oh, Sandy, these are so beautiful! You pegged it here: thinking about my faith and how it inspires my are–this opens my eyes wide. Absolutely beautiful. I’m so glad you are joining us on this journey.

  6. Karen R Evans says

    July 22, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    Loved the words and the photos. I must tell you the little dragonfly set my mouth to smiling. I love whimsy in photos and I imagained all kinds of captions. Of course all the photos are vibrant, true to their Creator.

  7. Nikole Hahn says

    July 25, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    After reading this, I longed to go on a hike and breath in the soul enriching goodness God gives us in His creation. Thanks for your words!

  8. Bonnie Gray | FaithBarista says

    July 26, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    Wow, Sandy! You amaze me. You wove so many beauty threads – all different – poetry, photography, faith, book review – in one post. All while giving us the breath of beauty. This was simply delicious for the soul– love all the quotes, too. This was a special brew. Yum. I enjoyed very much. Thank you.

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“This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” “This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” ~ Thomas Wentworth Higginson in “Ode to a Butterfly”
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“. . neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes “. .  neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes. They are moving in a week. They say a family from Belarus bought the house. I hope they don’t care much for mangoes.”
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It's been a while since I've written anything on my blog. Like 3 years. But I just wrote my first post on Substack. Come see?

https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/p/ten-years-ten-things
Spent a couple hours this morning with friends fro Spent a couple hours this morning with friends from @spanishriverchurch picking up beach trash. Little bits of colored and clear plastic, big bits of plastic, bottle caps, broken glass, strings, ropes, straws, socks, fast food containers, paper, cigarette holders and filters—and a couple unmentionables. Took extra care around the turtle nests. Last count was about 70 pounds, but there were also some bigger things like an abandoned chair and a plastic tent. And a big piece of burlap or something with a fishing lure and giant hook attached. D found a Macy’s gift card that he almost tossed in his bucket. But we brought it home to check the balance—$24.60! We should be able to turn that into something useful for someone. 😊
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Already dead, I am
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~ Xueyan from Time Peels All to Original White

Thanks to @tspoetry for introducing me to this beautiful collection via an Every Day Poems selection.
The cats attacked the window all night. The dog wo The cats attacked the window all night. The dog woofed all night. This morning we discovered the would-be burglar imprisoned between the screen and the glass on our bedroom slider. 

When I stepped out to release it (no bail), I was surprised by this brief bit of backyard beauty.
For most of us, knowledge of our world comes large For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?" ~ Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
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Thinking some may have tumbled from their perches last night. Pretty sure it will be raining iguanas tonight since we are under a frost advisory. It's cold. And windy.
Just sing... sing a song... Singing our way into Just sing... sing a song... 

Singing our way into the weekend.
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Now you see me... now you don't. Now you see me... now you don't.
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Read more at https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2023/01/10/its-poetry-at-work-day-2023/
Rising… Rising…
Everyone needs a little balance in life. And maybe Everyone needs a little balance in life. And maybe a beauty routine. And breakfast. Especially breakfast. I wonder if it consists of a few fire ants. I hope so. (Well, not mine. I'm having oatmeal with chia seeds. What are you having this morning?)
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P.S. Happy Friday!
"Though your destination is not yet clear You can "Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life's desire." ~John O'Donohue 
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Also, I'd really like this skirt --> 
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Read the whole poem--> -->
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Well, bummer... The whole page didn't print. Read it in the comments below.
"What precocity, a bird half the size Of an Anjou "What precocity, a bird half the size
Of an Anjou pear." ~ Stephen Kuusisto in "The Mockingbird on Central" (Find it in The Poets Guide to the Birds edited by Judith Kitchen and Ted Kooser)
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I've been in a long creative drought, so I started morning pages--again. This time I've got a bit of an accountability group through @refineretreat's Refinery--which I finally also joined this year. I'll turn 74 this month. I'm not ready to grow old while I age--though everything does seem to take longer while time goes by faster.
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