Treacherous Times by Madelyn Ilana

Verse 25 of the Tao Te Ching, translated by Stephen Mitchell:

There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Humans are great.
These are the four great powers.

Humans follow the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao
The Tao follows only itself.
.
.
.
Treacherous Times by Madelyn Ilana

Tonight I thank the stars
for my tender human heart.
It seems my body knows
so much more than my mind could ever hold.

Maybe all times have been treacherous times.
Since the dawn of life there's been a struggle to survive.
Yet there is something so flawless in disorder.
That's just the way things are.

To be alive, it's nothing new,
yet sometimes I think no one's ever felt the same way that I do.
Like my skin is crawling
with eyes,
I'll realign my cells from the inside.

Maybe all times have been treacherous times.
Since the dawn of life there's been a struggle to survive.
Yet there is something so flawless in disorder.
That's just the way things are.

A spider's web is stronger than steel,
ounce for ounce,
she weaves something so real.
So crack me open to reveal
what parts of me
are ready
to Heal.


Copyright 2018 by Madelyn Ilana
To be released on "Coming Into The Light" in 2022