“Poetry contains the quietness and concentration of the one who writes it. It is a shared personal moment that often expresses deep feeling and this is transferred to the reader. It comes from the heart and as I heard someone say on World Poetry Day in Athens, “Poetry comes in through the same door that prayer does.” —Athena Marini
The poetry in this book deals with spiritual themes as it has arisen from the author’s personal effort to walk the inner path with all its inspirational interludes and experiences but also the frustrations of trying to balance the inner needs in a world where the externals demand our attention most of the time.
“My reason in putting this book out was to amplify positive change in the world through the medium of poetry. By sharing my inner experiences, I hope to inspire others to have courage or to go deeper within themselves." Athena Marini
“Poetry contains the quietness and concentration of the one who writes it. It is a shared personal moment that often expresses deep feeling and this is transferred to the reader. It comes from the heart and as I heard someone say on World Poetry Day in Athens, “Poetry comes in through the same door that prayer does.” —Athena Marini
The poetry in this book deals with spiritual themes as it has arisen from the author’s personal effort to walk the inner path with all its inspirational interludes and experiences but also the frustrations of trying to balance the inner needs in a world where the externals demand our attention most of the time.
“My reason in putting this book out was to amplify positive change in the world through the medium of poetry. By sharing my inner experiences, I hope to inspire others to have courage or to go deeper within themselves." Athena Marini
Despite All
Despite what you see in the streets
Or in print
Despite the sorrow
Despite the destruction and death in unjust wars
Despite the politicians’ quibbling
Or the frivolity on your TV screen
Despite the greed, the fraud, the lies
Despite, and in spite of these
A change is coming
A long-awaited awakening is happening
Despite the confusion
Despite the emptiness
The fear
An aspiration is awakening
A thirst to know, to see, beyond the seeming
Beyond the illusion
We are caught in and live
We want, we need it
And a change is coming
A new consciousness, a higher us Is slowly manifesting
The new paradigm
The shift we’ve waited for, yearned for Is happening
Reach out, take part,
Manifest,
Intend the change
****
When vibrations of fear cancel out love
and greed prevails
from insecurity born
we lose our purpose and our part here
*****
Dis-identify
Dis-identify
You are not this inescapable chatter,
this tedium,
this mind
You are a lot more sublime.
Reject this notion
with all its commotion
This erroneous notion
This downright lie.
You are not this
You are much more
sublime.
You are not this whiteboard
Scribbled on by many
With the writings of
conditioning
Disown this notion
This erroneous notion
Defy this emotion
You are not this
Dis-identify.
Neither are you this body
but in it live
Nor the fleeting emotions are you
Perpetuate not this notion
You are much more than these
You are divine.
You are a mighty light
A mighty love
A clear creative mind
Know it
and live the knowing
You are divine.
*****
It is by the light we lighten up
and by love that we let go
to release
to trust, to flow
to find our nature
our truth
our wings
*****
Wall
I see you
with a wall
all-around
saying
I am alright
look at me
I’m fine
I’m doing well
I’m OK
And within
I see
an aching heart for love
When will the barriers come down?
topple down?
breakdown?
When will you let me in?
Athena Marini’s book is filled with poems of positivity and empowerment and the expressive but simple line drawings that are included between the verses add something to the book, making it read like a reflective piece of art rather than just a book of the poet’s views.
The strength of Marini’s perspective permeates as she draws on her own experience to share her hopes and aspirations for the world that we live in. Obviously, this aims to be an inspirational work for those of you looking for moments of calm in the chaos and words of validation that all will be fine, no matter how bleak it appears right now. I think that, to a high degree, it achieves this. It is truly a collection for our times.
There are definite spiritual themes throughout as well as the idea that we are a small but important piece of a much bigger entity and that there is far more to us than just our physical manifestation.
Personally, I liked the feeling of these poems as I read them, like a balm of hopefulness, willing me on to a better mindset and calm. They are fluid, light on punctuation, varying in form and add a sense of gentleness and reconciliation for which, I believe, the poet is aiming, adding strength to her message.
There are poems that deal with the resolution of issues, like “Poor Me”, one of my favourites, which concerns itself with a maternal relationship; “Tied Down” discusses freedom through acceptance and “Denial” presents the idea that there is no peace in hiding from difficulties in denying them, rather that they must be confronted.
I also liked the poem that finishes the collection “To The Spirit of the Chicken Bird”, a damnation of the way that chickens and their eggs are farmed, delivered as an apology and as a bid for change.
There is no doubting the poet’s earnestness and belief in her outlook from the poems and as a reader, I get the feeling that these poems are working on two levels; they are cathartic for her in the writing of them, bringing clarity to her thinking but also that there is a hope that, in their sharing, you too will benefit, the poet’s willingness for you to feel emboldened by the essence contained in the words being palpable.