Creative Writing
At gatherings we enjoy residential ‘Creativity’ sessions which include art, natural movement dance, music, photography, prose and poetry.
The following was written during a session on creative writing;
I joined an inspiring session on poetry. Our leader provided numerous examples of beautiful poems as well as pictures and a wealth of other ideas for starting points for our own writing.
To start us off, she gave us the phrase ‘What a delight it is…’ to complete in our own way.
For instance:
What a delight it is
To weave the rich colours and joyful music of our creativity
Into a dancing web of light;
Soul gifts brought forth to delight others
And to meditate on God.
We were encouraged to listen intently inwardly, concentrating on our chosen subject, centering our thoughts, so that writing became a meditation. I chose to write about a mighty kauri tree I had visited in New Zealand. Kauri trees were by far the largest living things in the Maori world and were given names and held as sacred. It is no wonder, for the largest now standing, Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) began its life 2000 years ago.
Its trunk measures over 60 feet around and hardly tapers for the next 50 feet. Its huge branches, towering high above the forest canopy, support a garden of their own; vines, orchids, moss and ferns. One cannot but feel a sense of awe in its presence, seeing our own Soul growth reflected in the life of this tree.
The following poem is not a polished piece of work, but offered as an illustration of an afternoon’s creative writing while sitting under another lovely tree :
TANE MAHUTA (Tah nay Ma hoo tah)
Unseen, unwitnessed, deep in the forest,
Deep in the damp, dark earth;
Long ages ago, unfurling, uncurling,
Tane Mahuta was born.
All around him were giants; tall, mighty presences,
Kauri trees seeking the heavens.
He gazed in wonder, yearning upwards,
Aspiring to what he could be.
In the damp, dark earth his roots delved deeper,
Anchor in fierce, wild storms
That came to buffet and toss his canopy.
He flexed and bent in the wind.
Roots creeping surely, outwards, down,
Seeking nourishment, drinking deep.
Life-force pulsing through mighty conduits
Gathering power to rise.
Straight and true his trunk soared upwards,
Fed from riches gathered in.
Emerald ferns within his branches
Adorned his outspread limbs.
Great now in stature, vast and aged,
Lord of the Forest, Tane Mahuta,
In silence blessing, overshadowing,
Inspiring reverence, stillness, peace.” EH
