Poetry Friday Round-up: Join Linda at Write Time to read more PF posts.
I met Wendi Romero at a poetry workshop last fall with Naomi Shihab Nye. Since then we have been Facebook friends. I have been enjoying the poetry she posts and decided to share her work with you today. Her collection of poems is called Out of the Kiln: Vessels of Hope. Her poems speak of transformation from the emptiness of loss to the light of hope. Wendi writes, “Sometimes, it’s moments of profound beauty and other times, the excruciating pain of deep loss, that brings us to a threshold.” Wendi pairs her poems with images that inspire and help us to see the beauty of our world. Out of the Kiln is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Xlibris, and Author House.
Photo by Wendi Romero, all rights reserved.
Bells
The stone has turned
and the trees have
come alive again.
The long arms of oak
in the acorn laid
asleep in the cold.
Now they branch
and reach for a taste
of endless sky.
The fall of dormant brown
has given way to
resurrection of green.
The buds hang like bells,
ringing in the rejoicing
of abundance,
beauty, and grace.
From the shadows
of the cave,
look into the light—
see what it brings.
Embrace the metanoia …
wholeness,
once more turning
and coming full,
circling toward
a new life of spring.© Wendi Romero
from Out of the Kiln: Vessels of Hope, Poetry of Transformation
Photo by Wendi Romero, all rights reserved.
Don’t Look Back
What once was
will always be.
New temples are built
over remains of old ones.
What lived in yesteryears
are now the long-term
memories we may
or may not hold dear.
New stories will
be told as our lives
are written over.
Go down and see
how the ashes settle
into place.
Take the flame
and light the way.
Now is enveloped
only by today.
About tomorrow
we don’t yet know.
Just stay in this moment,
stay with this day.© Wendi Romero
from Pilgrimage to Self: Leaving, Walking, Returning
Reflections on the Teche 
Thank you Margaret for your ongoing inspiration, your blog, and this feature! I’m both humbled and honored. I will be forever grateful for the time we shared with Naomi Nye … an experience of a lifetime, and I’m delighted that you were a part of it.
Have a great weekend.
Many blessings, Wendi
Sent from my iPad
Beautiful sharing, Margaret. I love each one for differing reasons, love “The buds hang like bells,/ringing in the rejoicing” and “Don’t Look Back” especially speaks to me. Thank you. What a wonderful thing that you two met!
Gifted poet, she.
Hi, Margaret. Thank you for introducing me to Wendi’s work. I have a friend who was a potter (now a yoga teacher). I think this book would be perfect for her.
I haven’t read Wendi’s poems before today, but I’ll certainly will seek out more of them. Thanks for introducing me to her work.
I like the resurrection of green and, like Linda, ““The buds hang like bells,/ringing in the rejoicing”” Very nice!
Love the earthiness of these – I can see a bit of Nye in this. And I do love the video, Margaret – nothing like the visual of the poet and the rise and fall of his/her voice to bring the poem to life.
That second poem makes me smile. I needed it last April when looking back at
“New temples are built
over remains of old ones.”
threatened to undo me!
Thanks to both of you for this beautiful post – “a taste/of endless sky” – Sighhh.
The “Bells” poem is lovely. These lines snagged me:
“Embrace the metanoia …
wholeness,
once more turning
and coming full,
circling toward
a new life of spring.”
Looked up ‘metanoia’ – and what a perfect word to describe the deep changes we sense in ourselves and in nature. Thanks, Margaret, for introducing us to Wendi!
Gorgeous poems and photos! I was particularly drawn to “Don’t Look Back.” Thanks for sharing these beauties, Margaret.