CHANCE ENCOUNTERS
I met a gracious lady, she smiled,
light lit her eyes;
I dropped a curtsy to the wise woman
showing my respect.
Do we honour those wiser than us, often enough;
The Lady spoke to me, we shared,
experiences of life.
of joys, pains and love.
Her road was gilded but her heart had bled,
my mother would love her, that is enough said.
We walked among roses, talked about heroes,
of our children, with humour and delight,
about countries and people.
About the sky, the oceans and nature’s force.
We found unity.
I walked up a mountain in a far away land,
met a Shepherd resting with his flock.
You have come, he said, seeking long
please sit down, share my fare.
Quietly I did as the old man said.
We talked softly about life,
its passions and grieves, it’s beauty and joy.
What can you hear, the old man asked
I was quiet for a while, then said;
The mountain stream, the wind through the grass.
The old man smiled and his eyes shone bright.
You have come a long way, he said
but you found the core of peace.
Do never forget the mountain stream, the wind
Let stillness and wonder live in your soul.
© miriam ivarson
My Window 
A beautiful poem, Miriam. You and I both seem to love peace and tranquility and the simple things in life.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Robbie and I treasure this shared love. Luckily I think we are in good
and hopefully plentiful company even if the world screams of sadness too.
Let us spread the message of love and calm.
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so beautiful Miriam… you took us on a trip with nature in this poem
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ameena, I am glad you felt so. Most of us love nature and see
details that could easily be missed. I also felt that it doesn’t matter where but the sharing with fellow man is important.
miriam
LikeLike
” Do never forget the mountain stream, the wind
Let stillness and wonder live in your soul.”
Beautiful.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you found that the ending touched you. I felt it when I was there and the photo of the stream I took on the way back.
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
This has the feel of a most pleasant daydream.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do agree that it has a dreamy quality about it. However, the trigger to this poem was a beautiful and sensitive photo I saw in a magazine of a Lady in her garden. Her face was so absorbed and serene.
How I all of a sudden came to walk up the mountain puzzled me but perhaps the two people I met both had the same to give.
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
Miriam, I love this poem for two reasons.
The two symbols – the ‘gracious lady’ and the ‘old man’ speak eloquently of life and values that we nurture and respect, the joys and the tears that we share, the light and the darkness that we learn to accept…I marvel at the way you have compressed the whole world in these two symbols.
Along with them…quietly and deftly merge the sustaining forces of nature, without which we would be bereft of beauty and breath!
All three amalgamate so well in the last two lines. Superb!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ah, Balroop. Thank you for this wonderful response. You grace my writing with your depth of understanding. I didn’t plan on having two so separate
people as the gracious Lady and the Shepherd, they just appeared as I had started. They do both represent the values you talk about.
In their separate but wise and knowing way they make it clear . But you saw that. 🦋
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely, Miriam.
LikeLike
Thank you so much Bette.💕🦋
miriam
LikeLike
Miriam, a wonderful poem filled with peace and serenity… I felt a certain calmness sweep over me as I walked along … meeting the gracious lady and the old man. You’ve conveyed so many emotion of life experiences in just a few words and shared so much wisdom with us. A poem that will stay with me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Annika, thank you for this wonderful comment. How glad I am when you say
that calmness swept over you. Any wisdom there is was given as I wrote.
I guess though that we all write from what we feel and sometimes has been hidden. One little event can trigger an avalanche of emotions.
🦋💕 miriam
LikeLiked by 2 people
When we listen well enough to hear the wind and the stream, we have heard far more than than the wind and the stream…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Phil. This is such a beautiful and deeply felt comment.
I couldn’t agree more with your words.
Miriam
LikeLike
A very beautiful and spiritual piece of poetry to begin and take through the week Miriam. The last line is especially powerful as it is something we can struggle to find these days. There is a phrase which says, “silence gives you a much better chance of hearing yourself ” (I can’t remember where it came from), but it is so true. Maybe chance encounters are guides to lead us there? Thank you for this Miriam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May you long continue to ‘walk among roses’, Miriam. Your poem takes me there, where words combine with visual images to provide such an uplifting experience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Roland, how interesting, you are the first one to notice the roses over the second encounter. The poem started with a picture of a Lady in a
rose garden. Somehow I suddenly found myself on a hill. I do love that silence too. Both people are so wise and sharing.
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Davy for your strong and positive cmment. You are right that a more hectic world does not provide as many chances for listening and reflecting. We can all find them though.:) I am sure you do, without it is difficult to write poetry which you do so beautifully.
To be in such silence that you can hear the whisper of grass is wondrous.
Miriam
LikeLike
So wonderful! I love the rhythm of this, and especially the ending, listening to the stream and the wind. I find being still and listening to Nature around me grounds me when life gets chaotic. Thank you for sharing this with us (and the photos are beautiful!)
LikeLike
Thank you Julie, I am glad you found the rhythm. It is important to me that there is one. My preference maybe.
I couldn’t agree more with your words that nature grounds us. I would even say that nature is our foremost teacher which we one way or the other bring into our words.
Thank you for compliment about photos as they are all my own. At times Pixaby or similar come very handy.😊🦋
LikeLike
Beautiful and graceful poem, Miriam. There is loveliness and wisdom everywhere if we only pause to listen. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Diana for your lovely comment.
Nature does provide this wisdom everywhere if we but open our hearts.
What saddens me is why man so frequently don’t.
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
Utterly compelling and captivating Miriam. I’ve written similar pieces, about meeting a man, a stranger, who shares knowledge, but none as beautiful and polished as this. I can see why we ‘click’, entangled poets are we.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Nigel, I would love to see your pieces on the subject.
I know your immediate and warm approach.
I like yur phrases ” entangled poets are we “. :)) How true.
miriam……from a very snowy south
LikeLike
I love this. It’s true that we need to stop and listen much more. Reading this made me feel that sense of peace that I usually only feel when I’m out in nature, trying to soak it all up. Thank you for such a lovely interlude.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your lovely comment Sheila. I am glad that you felt peace when you read the poem. I do believe strongly that we need to be connected to nature wherever we are. I am glad you visited.
Miriam
LikeLike
This wonderful poem reads like a fairy tale to me. The wisdom that so clearly shines out of every line makes it aglow with love and peace. Oh yes,we need to travel long before we reach that (inner) core of peace but it is worth all the hardships. 😊
LikeLike
Wow Sarah, thank you so very much. That rings true to me. Almost like a fairytale where you can move unhindered everywhere and find your truths and events.
You got it right on the feeling of peace. That is what came. I saw a picture and off I went.😊 .
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have been keeping your postings for when I had time to do them justice and reflect. I’m glad I waited and walked the paths with you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Br. I am so very glad you honoured my words so. It is really a joy to have you come on this walk and I know you would love it.
Be well my friend
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person