Uncaged

How freedom really is possible

Photo by david hili on Unsplash

There’s a lot in what I am about to tell you. It’s true though—all of it. It actually happened on my hike into the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.

There we were walking into the mystical woods—just Gwen and me. We were the only ones in the forest that morning and that alone made me happy and glad. I did not want to see another human soul. I did not want to hear them either. When we drove into the forest, I said to Gwen, “It would be such a gift if we were the only humans in this forest today.” It began as that gift—but then the unexpected happened. And I was glad for this unexpected encounter with another human soul.

Along the trail, I did see another soul. There on the upper loop, where we had climbed to be a witness to the massive trees in that great forest, she came upon us. We greeted each other and being trying nice and not annoyed, I said, “What do you do with your life?” She said, “I am a poet.”

And there I was, face to face with a poet—a younger soul by far. One, full of light and hope and some innocence too. I could see it in her eyes.

I asked her to cite one of her poems. She looked down, as if looking into the filing drawer of her soul. She lifted her face and out poured a beautiful poem called, “Birdsong.”

My poem, I wrote about this very mystical but real experience. is titled “Uncaged.” It’s such a fitting title, and I use that one word in the body of the poem. She was uncaged and her freedom unlocked a door for me where, I too, could find my own words—my words meeting her and her friend in the woods that beautiful fall morning.

This is a poem about youth and aging. It is about regret and desire. It is about beauty and freedom. It is a poem about the journey called life and how we find freedom. Well, what do you think, “Uncaged” is about?

I’ll be especially interested in your comments. Do leave a word—a phrase—a thought you have as you read, “Uncaged.”

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I’ve decided to move forward on publishing my poems. It somehow feels important to me—my new voice, my greening soul, my heart compelled to speak of being uncaged.

In talking this over with Gwen, I’ve decided to only put the poems in the book—no prose—no explanation—no backstory. All of that will be here on Substack for anyone who wants to know the “why.” I wonder how this strikes you. I’d be interested to know. Do tell me.

But, in the book I will also be putting Gwen’s watercolors and images that she has taken of our life together. Those images will somehow give the Visio Divina for the poems. This will be our second collaboration in a book, we’ve done together. The first one was written after our grandson, Tommy died and we took time off in a sabbatical to find ourselves through that grief. We turned to Thomas Keating for help. We studied contemplative prayer for those months and it was an important time in our lives, our. marriage, our healing and work. It’s tiled, Ascending the Mountain Within. This book is about learning to pray in a contemplative way—a way, when words fail, you can pray in wordless prayer. It’s a beautiful book and I hope you might consider getting a copy.

So, what poems will I place in this book. Here, I’ll be asking for your help. I’ll want the ones that resonate—the ones that help speak of your inner world as well as mine.

It’s a long process to give birth to a book.

Let the journey begin! I suppose it already has and you already know that!

Photo by Sultan on Unsplash

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