chrysalis

she enters as one

weary of the struggle

the slow crawl

of a soul in agony

to know the purpose

of her existence

surrendering to all

she cannot change

to all she cannot fathom

a fine button of silk

is all that holds her now

to this world

as the final ecdysis* reveals

a harder skin

a tough exterior

belies her vulnerability

inside the chrysalis

a metamorphosis

is taking place

it is the movement

toward imago

the movement

toward realization

the movement

toward emerging

in triumph she sits

atop an empty shell

she leaves as one reborn

-stacy wills (3/30/2012)

(*ecdysis: from the greek, ekduo - to take off, strip off)

repose

don't be afraid

to suffer,

give the heaviness

back to the weight

of the earth;

mountains are heavy,

seas are heavy...

-rainer maria rilke (1875-1926)

embedded

i have continued to sit with the troubling images of the cedar tree that i wrote about in my last post. as i did, suddenly the barbed wire embedded in her flesh became transformed into a speculum holding the eye of my heart wide open...unblinking, and i saw my own complicity in the cruelty and suffering that exists in the world - twin beams of ignorance and indifference.

unbound

i am currently taking a class through the abbey of the arts called eyes of the heart, photography as contemplative practice. yesterday while i was out walking with my camera, a cedar tree caught my eye because of the interesting lumps and bumps in its trunk. as i drew nearer, however, i saw that the unusual formations had been caused by barbed wire that had been wrapped around her years ago. i was grieved to the core, and received this image as a stark reminder of the cruelty and suffering that exists in this world. i could not get the image out of my mind, and longed to see it transformed in some way. this morning, while looking again at the photograph, i saw a figure in the bark - it looked like a woman dancing, as one released from bondage. i offer this mandala in the hope that one day all who are in bondage (in whatever form that takes) will be released from their suffering.