but on the bright side
middle age aridity
concentrates essence
—Terri Guillemets
but on the bright side
middle age aridity
concentrates essence
—Terri Guillemets
i don’t want to be
just a strand of dna
passing through time
or an echo of a face
repeated down the line
just another leaf falling
from the family tree
a bloodline that someday
ends with the end of me —
i want to be the sky
or an eternal poem
wildflowers growing
wherever seeds roam
i want to be the wind
or wandering clouds
or the rain that drifts
or a free soaring bird
or starshine at night —
eternity’s glowing
ethereal light
—Terri Guillemets
Fortune is a centaur —
half man, half luck
—Terri Guillemets
her smiling girl-heart danced
behind the grey, grey hair
—Terri Guillemets
scrambled blackout poetry created from Enid Bagnold,
grieving makes us stronger —
it gives us a spirit of grace
and the grace of spirit
our hearts feel weaker
but living past loss is
the ultimate courage
we honor our loved ones
by living on despite —
and all the more because
—Terri Guillemets
it’s not that the people
with nice shiny attitudes
haven’t been banged up —
but they buff out their
dings and scratches with
gratitude and positivity
perspective and grace
resilience and courage
with purpose and faith
—Terri Guillemets
Transform FEAR into —
curiosity, love, kindness, humor, hope, joy, knowledge, focus, laughter, awareness, wonder, willpower, wings, experience, faith, fervor, challenge, gratitude, encouragement, enlightenment, goodwill, action, learning, beginnings, opportunity, aim, determination, adventure, character, smiles, hard work, independence,
—Terri Guillemets
You don’t always have to pray for something, or to someone — you can just simply pray.
—Terri Guillemets
We thank
on our knees
with folded hands
for full bellies
and fuller hearts
—Terri Guillemets
Scars tell us more about the future than the past, about how we can live strong despite any pain we’ve been through.
—Terri Guillemets
Stifling an urge to dance is bad for your health — it rusts your spirit and your hips.
—Terri Guillemets
If life is good, don’t just sit there — dance!
If life’s not so good — dance even more.
—Terri Guillemets
Follow your passion, and success will follow you.
—Terri Guillemets
thorns and stings
and those such things
just make stronger
our angel wings
—Terri Guillemets
P.S. Thank you to everyone who has written letting me know that Katya Elise Henry got a tattoo of this poem. Honestly, I didn’t know who she was and had to look it up. But that’s pretty cool, and a nice tattoo.
Once you’ve whittled down to spiritual essentials, the physical decluttering comes naturally.
—Terri Guillemets
we feel poetry and art
in the sensitive veins
that run through soul and
carry not blood but spirit
—Terri Guillemets
Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.
—Terri Guillemets