Michael's Story

Michael has spent his life wandering the inner and outer wilds, echoing back its beauty through photography and poetry. He was a participant and apprentice on the EOA Yearlong Journey and now serves as an EOA guide.
Boulder, CO

Expressions: Poetry

The poems that express themselves through me arrive thanks to a way of being with nature and Life that Ecology of Awakening has helped awaken. For me, it is the silence, which is sometimes full of sound, or the stillness, which is sometimes full of movement that is the fertile soil for words to emerge, from the otherwise unnoticed voices that whisper to us.

(All photos courtesy of Michael at Miraculous Moments)

Shaping

My Dear,
you don’t always have to be so strong,
for all are brought to their knees
in one way or another.

Look to the wind
who makes grasses bow
and trees tremble,
yet howls as it rips
across the ridgeline’s razor edge.

Take those stony sentinels
who stand so strong and stoic,
and tame the wild winds,
yet crumble when mere water freezes
in their cracks and fissures of vulnerability.

That same ice,
firm and frigid,
and fierce enough to crack mighty monoliths
yields to the slightest warmth
and melts so softly
into the sweetness of springtime.

Even the oceans with all their might,
who sculpt the very earth
are ruled by the peaceful gaze
of the moon.

You see,
there are times for shaping
and for being shaped.
The timing is not up to you.

There is beauty and wisdom in both.

Backseat

I’m in the backseat now,
the Universe at the wheel,
chauffeuring me on this eternal escapade.
I’ve grown tired of trying to coax the driver from her seat,
for she’s the only one fit to navigate this vessel after all.
Yet she listens to me
as I am a part of her,
and she will occasionally ask
"Left or Right?",
knowing, my response, will make no difference
(and every difference).
For the views and vistas in either direction
contain nothing more and nothing less
than the ecstasy,
the anguish,
the mystery,
the perfection
of this beautiful
and ever-unfolding
journey.

To my loved ones who spend most nights beneath a roof,
May you have the fortune
just often enough,
to see the magic of the Milky Way,
to be pierced by Orion's arrow,
to be stunned by shooting stars,
who are nothing less than your sacred siblings.
May you be awestruck,
your senses overwhelmed
and clearly see
the Divine in All.
May you feel the miracles of nature,
not as threats,
but as a beautiful part of what you are.
May you feel your incredible vastness
and fall,
evermore in love.

To my loved ones who spend most nights beneath the stars,
May you have the fortune
just often enough,
to see the magic of the 'Modern Way',
to be pierced by blinding city lights,
to be stunned by over-paid stars,
who are nothing less than your sacred siblings.
May you be awestruck,
your senses overwhelmed
and clearly see
the Divine in All.
May you feel the miracles of modernity
not as threats,
but as a beautiful part of what you are.
May you feel your incredible vastness
and fall,
evermore in love.

To all my loved ones,
May you have the fortune
just often enough,
to trust in magic that you cannot see,
to be pierced by your own perfection,
to be stunned by your sacredness,
for you are nothing less than stardust.
May you be awestruck,
your senses overwhelmed
and clearly see
the Divine in You.
May you feel the mysteries of the universe
not as threats,
but as a beautiful part of what you are.
May you feel your incredible vastness
and fall,
evermore in love.