Indigo Owl by Elizabeth Crawford with help from a friend
For Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt: Shadows
http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/
And Big Tent Poetry prompt: The Blues
http://bigtentpoetry.org
Indigo Owl
Used to believe in need
for a happy ending. Played
with the blues, until I found
Indigo. Deep dark shadows
reflecting all light with
well-defined edges.
Far sight gave birth to sure
flight, wings spread to embrace
whatever hid there in darkness.
Movement of life giving life.
Nurture of nature seeing
to needs met and sated.
Beginnings for one
become endings for another.
Learned to let go of previous
need, finding balance in release,
contentment in present moment.
Acceptance of death as necessary
for life to beget new life.
Elizabeth Crawford 2/10/11
Soul's Music 
WOW! ELIZABETH!!!!!!!! I so love every single word of this. And the painting – did you do that? It is so beautiful. I love the very word “indigo”, love the suggestion of darkness that is rich and deep, not black and scary…….I love the wisdom in your words, such profound truths……”Far sight gave birth to sure flight”. Wowzers! The last stanza is especially wise and powerful. The present moment, contentment and acceptance. Such is the journey of wild women!!!!!!! SUCH a wonderful poem!!!!!!!!
Oh Sherry, I love your enthusiasm. Yes, I did the image, but it isn’t a painting. It was me playing on a Paint program on a computer. Didn’t really know what I was doing, just trying different things out. However, after getting the background in, then doing the tree and rocks, I knew it needed a bird, but don’t have that kind of talent. My friend, who was far more talented in that area, told me to find a bird I liked, then she cut it out and placed it in the image and we colored it to suit.
It was squirreled away on a hard disc for many years. When I saw the BTP prompt for this week, it was the first thing that leapt into my head. It took a lot of time hunting it down and a long discussion with my daughter about what happens to all these words when I am gone. Both things, I’m fairly certain, became part of the actual poem. I believe the owl and the wolf make wonderful companions, especially for someone who writes. Thanks for reading and for expressing your delight,
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth, a beautiful piece on life’s cycle.
Acceptance is the hardest part for most.
When I was younger I had an innate fear of
dying, but somewhere along the way things changed.
“Beginnings for one
become endings for another.”
Love this!
Pamela
Pamela, thank you for sharing. Most of us carry that fear of dying, all of us to some degree. I don’t think I ever thought about it all that much until just before turning fifty. Then it became a knowing that death was closer than it had ever been. And with that knowing came the awareness of how very fragile life really is. How important it is to live inside each moment also helped me to see much more clearly how life and death are bound together in a very real eternal pattern. I have been drawn very strongly to birds of prey, especially the owl and its ability to see and move so swiftly through the darkness. That in turn helped to deal with the shadow side of my own personality and to again clearly see that pattern between life and death. We are constantly choosing to let some things go, that others might grow and develop.
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth, I too liked this very much and was especially struck by. . .
“Played
with the blues, until I found
Indigo.”
I thought that was brilliant!
I love Indigo and use it a lot when I color. It speaks to me of beginnings and endings, that in between time when day and night are held at bay by a light that still allows the seeing of things, even in shadow. I love those in between spaces. Thank you Susannah for taking the time to read and share,
Elizabeth
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You develop your theme well. Nice piece.
Thank you Ollie, I could see the monk very easily inside this image, even perhaps creating it from the smoke of his pipe,
Elizabeth
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Yes, I have always loved indigo. I’m so glad you could share this beautiful painting and your words echo powerfully! Beginnings and endings, happy or sad, maybe it’s all the same…. Thanks so much for such a beautiful write!
Thanks Annell for your always encouraging words. I wasn’t real sure of the poem, not enough imagery for me. But, I do like what it says and that’s as important as anything else.
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth, I appreciated your poem; and I STILL hope for happy endings; but more and more I realize that sometimes this isn’t to be. How to come to terms with the inevitable unhappy endings in life is what I seek to discover right now. I contemplate ‘beginnings for one become endings for another,’ and I think also about the reverse of that. Perhaps endings for one become beginnings for another; but then how to begin… I do a lot of ‘contentment in present moment.’ Today I found joy with my granddaughter as we cuddled together, me wishing SHE would nap so I could nap too. She didn’t, so we just played games together, and that’s okay.
Mary, I had originally put the reverse in the poem as well, but it sounded like a bit of overkill so I took it out. Figured the reader could do that and you certainly did. I don’t mean to suggest that any of this is easy or simple. Far from it. Letting go is always difficult and embracing new beginnings can be absolutely terrifying. But, by being present to the moment, each moment, and aware of the cycle of life’s patterns, it is far easier to accept and work through both. They say that being aware is the first step of any task. I think being present to the moment is being aware. It helps more than we can know if we have not tried it. And I am glad that you are finding some contentment in the present moment. You deserve that my friend. Thanks for sharing,
Elizabeth
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As others have said, Elizabeth, I love your use of language here and the deep wisdom as well. And I love the picture. And it is freeing to embrace what may be in shadow and know that through the shadow there is light.
Thank you Peggy. I find that embracing what exists in the shadow has opened several layers of my creative energies in ways that are both satisfying while surprising. And I also believe that the more creative energy we express, the brighter the light we bring to those shadow places. That again is the pattern of Life/Death/Rebirth.
Elizabeth
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A wonderful outlook garnered from your recent reflections has resulted in a superb poem. The painting is lovely, too – it would be good to know how to do that on the computer.
ViV
Thank you Viv. I agree that this one came about from a lot of other sources, not the least of which has been the Journey Stones experiment. I don’t remember the exact name of the paint program we were using back then, but I have recently downloaded (free) Paint.net. It has many of the same apps, and I love to play with them and the colors. That’s how this image came about, just playing with the different effects and seeing where they would take me. Pretty sure some of those experiments will end up on my blogs at some point. I really do like to play,
Elizabeth
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Wonderfully written and left me feeling at peace … and the picture compliments it beautifuuly.
Hi Deborah and thanks. Actually the image came first and the poem was written after finding it and seeing if it would work here. The Big Tent prompt initialized a search for the image, and the Thursday Think Tank sort of clinched it as the source for a poem. Sort of a cooperative venture between me the poet, and me the lover of colors. I like that when it happens. And am glad that the whole left you with a feeling of peace. It certainly does that for me as well.
Elizabeth
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Powerful and wonderful poem.
Thank you Nan, for your very encouraging words.
Elizabeth
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Beautiful! I really like this –
“Far sight gave birth to sure
flight, wings spread to embrace
whatever hid there in darkness.”
Laurie, I have a great snowy owl in my Personal Mythology. She is the one who led me to the threshold of my shadow aspects. I define owls as the eagles of the night, because they retain much of the same symbolism in the shadows, as eagles do in daylight. A great deal of my poetry is informed by that mythology, and certainly the imagery within it. Thank you for stopping and commenting,
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth,
Your words and the image have brought me closer to seeing and connecting with the life of the owl.
I loved the indigo image.
Best wishes,
Eileen
Eileen, for a long time I played with Indigo, using it almost exclusively because I loved how it spoke to me. It still remains a strong favorite, especially when faced with a blank sheet of white paper. For me, it has a life of its own, just as the owl does. The two are linked for me in a manner I can’t quite express, yet this poem seems to do that. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment,
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth,
This is beautiful; A stunning way to capture the circle and cycle of life! Your painting is
lovely; it evokes such a searching for meaning mood! Love this one; Great, great poem!
Ellen, thank you for your kind words. When I read your comment, I had to go back and look at the image, and yes, I can see what you mean. The image has always meant many different things to me, not least of which was the relationship that spawned it. That was an extraordinary time in my life, a time of deep learning and so much more.
Elizabeth
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One of my favorite colors. ^_^ The painting is lovely, and it’s interesting how you managed to expand that simple color into such deep meditation.
Hi Joseph. I believe that all colors speak in a language we must learn to lean in, and listen, to if we are going to experience any amount of emotional depth. I have been coloring Mandalas for many years and often, while bent to that task, I hear words and phrases in my head that often turn into poetry or personal essays. I thought that I was simply playing with the colors, only slowing realizing that they were teaching me their language, while leading me into a form of active meditation. That is a journey in its own right. Thanks for your encouraging words,
Elizabeth
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I love “played / with the blues until I found / indigo” what an awesome way of showing the notion of ‘going deeper.’ Beautiful image too.
Thank you James, that means a great deal coming from you,
Elizabeth
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You got is so right. Death is indeed renewal of life. The cycle continues…
lined up…
Thank you Gautami, yes the cycle continues, but I seem to need a reminder every now and then.
Elizabeth
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This is wonderful, Elizabeth. I found this stanza particularly resonant:
Far sight gave birth to sure
flight, wings spread to embrace
whatever hid there in darkness.
Kelly, that is my favorite as well, as true of the owl as it is of my own person. There is always so much more to see and to learn. Thanks for your thoughts,
Elizabeth
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I love that first stanza. For some reason those well-defined edges appeal to me.
Oddly, the fear of death has never been very strong for me. Guess I believed what they said in Sunday School. Don’t think there would be much religion without fear of death.
I was a lot like you until I hit fifty, when for some reason, it suddenly became very important. And I agree with you about religion, most of us need something to cling to and hope in. Thanks b,
Elizabeth
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Totally awesome – both words and image. Love it!
Coming from you that has extra special meaning. Thank you Tumblewords,
Elizabeth
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Beautiful poem…I love the way it flows!
Thank you Jeanne, am glad you enjoyed it,
Elizabeth
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