Original poem included:  Weeping Freedom.

A Different Way to Write About Spirituality Outside the Context of Religion

What is spiritual poetry? The spiritual arena is all about discussing the soul or spirit. Though the terms soul and spirit are debated as different, well, most people use the terms interchangeably. I'll just use the term spiritual to keep things focused here.

Our spirits are considered to be divine. Our spirits are elevated to the level of sacred because of the widespread belief our spirits reflect our Creator's Spirit. For Christians that is God, for Jews that is G-d, the Muslims choose Allah. For others it is The Great Spirit and yet more people see our Creator as Spirit or All That Is. Pick one. The overriding concept is the same: we are considered to all have been created from a wellspring greater than ourselves.

This is where writing spiritual poetry really gets interesting. In order to define the spiritual which is intangible we are required to contrast it with the tangible. Read that sentence one more time as that is your easy writing technique!

What is tangible? This is the easiest to understand as we can perceive things which are tangible through the sense of touch. We call these things as being physical, solid or material. This is considered to be real to us. You can touch a grapefruit and not require faith that it exists. You already know it exists directly by using your physical senses of touching, smelling and tasting.

What is intangible? Well, it's the opposite of the above definition but you already guessed that now didn't you?! Give yourself an AHF (Air High Five). Would you explain it more so I can really wrap my brain around the idea? I'm so glad you asked and, though the intangible tends to be quite subtle, it is still easy to understand.

The intangible has to do with what you cannot physically touch or use your other material senses but still you know it to be true, like gravity. You cannot reach out and touch gravity but you sure can feel the bruises when you fall down a flight of stairs that result from the existence of gravity.

Music fills the air yet you can't touch it. Yes, you can hear it with your physical ears. But what about the serene feeling or joy you suddenly develop from listening to that music? You can't touch it as it is intangible yet you still know it to be real because of your interaction with it.

Duty is something every soldier or parent knows to do, an intangible, yet you know it is real by how people demonstrate it in their lives.

So many spiritual poems are about declaring a belief, praise or thanksgiving. Few deal with the actual spiritual process of refinement. Spiritual refinement strips away layers of anti-spiritual learned behaviors which are nothing but immature ego projections usually caused by family, national or even, paradoxically sometimes, religious cultures. The goal is to reveal the authentic self, uncovering the original divine creation. When I was thinking about how to see writing a spiritual poem with fresh eyes I thought about describing a tangible jasmine vine in the process of being deeply pruned by a gardener.

I was pruning this jasmine vine in August just as Hurricane Gustav was blowing in fiercely because the vine was too heavy for its support; it was top heavy. People: How many people are top heavy with grandiose often judgmental thoughts but not enough heart to truly love others they don't yet understand?

As I began the process of pruning that vine I didn't really intend to take it down to the skeleton which is severe pruning. I started with the outside of the plant and, shaping it, hoped to alleviate the top heaviness and be done with it - like any lazy gardener in the summer heat. Then, noticing dead and dying branches, I soon realized I had to get serious and start thinning out. Again, I hoped I was done.

As I peered deeper into the massed vine there were many twisted branches literally choking the life from each other. Once I had stripped off the top newest growth it was plain to see that new growth was disguising what was wrong with the plant and it needed serious correction. People: How many people mask what is lurking under their surface causing them and everyone around them terrible pain?

It was all or nothing at this point so I pared the plant down to the skeleton, selecting the most perfect branches to begin new growth - much like working on a bonsai tree. When my husband saw it he was horrified but then he isn't a gardener. He doesn't know how constant pruning produces a healthier plant; this one had not been attended to for some time - just like people. Paring down the vine, giving it more air, light and a lighter weight gave it the strength to handle Hurricane Gustav's 100 mph winds whistling around our house the next day; there was no excess baggage. People can benefit from the same concept.

When a person undergoes this kind of deep pruning it is very much the long journey of the spiritual process. People need shaping, thinning and deep pruning of discarding old negative thoughts, bad attitudes and self-destructive practices. All those things are like the dead branches of the vine, not doing us any good, just taking up space to trip up the new growth trying to find the space to thrive.

This jasmine vine reminded me so much of how when a person is choking on the spiritual level they will reach out inappropriately and do foolish things they regret. They, both the vine and people, are so desperate to find the light rather than smother in the dark and die they head off helter-skelter with no discernable plan in mind.

In short, there are times to get rid of the clutter whether pruning a plant or pruning our inner house. Pruning on a regular basis makes life easier and a lot less work later on.

As you read the following poem think of how this plant behaves and tries to grow much like a person. Take note of the many verbs used for the idea of inner action and describing the action of the environment upon the plant.

And, yes, do yourself a favor: if you are not familiar with a word, take the time to look it up and you will be rewarded. I do it all the time as we all forget various words when we don't use them daily.

Extra shades of meaning are derived from the reading where you can grab the full intent that is available on many layers here. Who wants to just be a mere surface reader and only a concrete thinker? Reading in layers really stimulates the mind causing you to catch on faster at perceiving the truth of things in your world, making your life richer!

Weeping Freedom

Heavy driving bursting rains pummel earthward

Upon this gnarled faithfully speeding rakish growth

Dripping droplets, glistening loosed milky flowers

Rushing rivulets descend from rooftops gushing

Adventurous licentious fingers flung wildly outward

Exploring, unrestrained, touching tenacious stopping wall

Barricade me not, loose my stifling trellis binds

Straining against established caged immurement

Freedom beckons loudly near the waving reddest rose

Yearning fast forward, quickly flee, furious need escape

Near breaking, endures weary weathered woody trellis

Accommodating, curious, bending to wait, upon what?

Writhing greenery mass, twisted, small world labyrinth

Enduring, steadfast thick roots, questing crawling center vine

Established, secure, infinite branches, winging sweetest fragrance

Curling corkscrew new tips salacious, paradox to double mind

Persisting planted foundation, safe, secure, familiarity

Abiding growth eager, libertine conflicted, dilemma eternity

Pruning twisted gnarled old thoughts, settled creaking branches

Discarding crammed spaces, thrown wide open air, fresh, renew

Shearing recent growth undisciplined, messy trimmed now neat

Paring down the old, good basic branches reduced, searing severe

Denuded exposed bare beauty, my life, begin renewal, again and again

Rejuvenate, renovate, refresh, yes, revive this lovely jasmine vine, mine!

***

Photo Credits

Please take a look at the photos for this piece as they are from some fabulous photographers over at flickr who freely make their photos available to illustrate online content and are just delightful people!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/positiv/380994480/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lidarose/275226076/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lidarose/312805054/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sis/241197952/

***

Hope you enjoyed! For another grin, take a look at some of my own photos of my best critics who help edit those 1st and many drafts as they are quite discriminating!

These blogs are where I park my HubPage hubs/articles. Also, lots of cool photos from our friends over a flickr as I like to promote the photographers who graciously allow use of their photos in the Creative Commons area to online writers. Lots of good quotes, poems, resources and recipes.

The Social Poets - a blog to read poetry, nonjudgmental place for aspiring writers, also online coffeehouse for discussing the social issues in a convivial atmosphere.

The Soul Calendar - wondering about the Universe without as well as within:  astronomy, physics, psychology, neuroscience and more.

The Healing Waters - a welcoming place to stress down and approach health from many angles, healthy recipes too.

Romancing The Chocolate – yummy photos, recipes and just plain fun. Quotes illustrated with chocolate photos to make you laugh!

Comfort Food From Louisiana – yummy easy comfort food recipes, photos of New Orleans, history and cultural traditions of south Louisiana.

*** Thank you for visiting and a big thank you to HubPages, AOL, Yahoo, Google, Mister Wong and StumbleUpon readers for all your great support!

hub #2