D A N C E

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DANCE

Dance as if freedom is yours, your right,
sing as if all are free, like heaven above,
smile the guileless smile of a child;

Dance to the song of life,

history will tell me I am wrong
so will the news,
that evil is inherent in man;
That my dreams are naive,

maybe so, my friends, yet
you might also find,
your beauty, your song.
Hidden under historical wrongs;

Let us choose the light
and not imitate the throng,
nor applaud just because …
Without thought, without reflection.

Believe in you, in us, in freedom
Dance in the sun with a guileless smile.

© miriam ivarson

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DRIFTWOOD

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DRIFTWOOD

washed up on the shore,
so exquisite, so polished;
Feels like silk in my hands,

For days, weeks or longer
it has travelled,
across oceans and seas,

hammered against rocks
varnished by sand.

Reminding me of many unfortunates,
living in the shady side of our cities,
by gleaming edifices of beauty and wealth;

Driftwood of humanity.

Playthings to those who exploit,
sleeping in doorways, under bridges,
washed up from an ocean of society;
There was no space for them within,

they see the sun, feel the rain,
but can they feel joy?
when their mattress is concrete?

meanwhile we sleep in soft beds
pampered and fed.

How my heart bleeds
wishing to rescue, to help;
Praying those with knowledge will,
as I give my support,

yet the sorrow and helplessness is there.
Around the corner glittering skyscrapers stand
holding wealth beyond sense.

Still, I pick driftwood by the shore,
feeling it’s journey in my hands;
Journey across oceans free,

Washed by the sea
Kissed by the sun.

© miriam ivarson

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FEROCIOUS EGO

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Ferocious Ego

Mingling among the festive crowd,
a party in lively swing,
I was struck by the conversation
or the lack thereof.
Many had much to say,
louder and louder.
Few did listen nor respond.

A greedy entity ruled,
Ego was its name.

Happily the triffid fed
Growing, thriving,
Gluttonous.

Unhindered it will expand,
causing damage untold,
Including wars, suppression, greed.
Given the chance.

Unmask this mutant called Ego,
Stand it naked in clear light.

Take a daily inventory
of our inner selves.
Our aims, our thoughts;
so we can stop.
Ego’s mushrooming growth.

As long as it rules
We will never live:
Just exist in the future,
The past
In more.
Never now.

© miriam ivarson

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Fountain of Youth

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Reading many wise thinkers’ thoughts about life, what 
gives lasting fulfillment and inner aliveness,  brought me to 
the question of retaining this fountain of youth. Of being 
fully alive.

To dare live here and now as Eckhardt Tolle teaches in his 
wonderful books makes us younger both physically and spiritually.
To feel each moment and not see it as a transport to the next.
By living so in our daily life, our faces relax and find the ease of
a smile. Strength to live life to the full and let our inner selves pour forth. To find clarity.

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Fountain of Youth

Does it really exist,
or is it a state of mind?
The thought came unbidden
as I walked,
along the ocean shore.

The waves from the Atlantic
relentless, forceful,
singing their eternal song;
Powerful, soporific
profound,

dynamic organ to gentle,
sweet percussions;
as my ears, my being tuned in
revealing a mighty orchestration.

Eyes filled with tears of joy
as the morning sun revealed,
nature in all its beauty,
Splendour and hues.

Feet delighted in the surf
as tides reached, caressed,
and at times unbalanced me
with their strength.

I found my smile again,
full and free
as gradually the Atlantic hymn
filled my soul, my ears,
My whole,

leaving woes and fears behind;
who earlier seemed invincible,
so strong;
Where now drowned
By unending sea.

You look so young
I heard every day;
your smile is so bright.
Could it be so simple, I thought?
Have I found along the shore,

The Fountain of Youth?

Letting frowns and worries
be erased by the ocean sound.
Bringing forth who I was,
who I am;

As I walk along
the smile fills my heart,
opens it wide.
The crashing waves are me
as are the shifting sands,
We are one and the same.

A feeling so boundless and free

© miriam ivarson

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