Poetry by Sharon Lia Robinson
Wayward Star, Devotional Poems
By Sharon Lia Robinson
My poetry book, Wayward Star, Devotional Poems is available through Sheriar Books.
This collection includes poems evoking both the Catholic and Jewish traditions with my faith in Meher Baba, the Ancient One. Through Meher Baba’s love and grace I am inspired to visit my neighborhood Catholic Church for prayer, spiritual direction and friendship. This selection of poems reflects my pilgrimage.
From the Foreward by Charles Haynes, author of Meher Baba, The Awakener: “Read aloud the poems in this book, listen with the ears of the heart. Like all poems posted to what Sharon describes as ‘a cloud unknown,’ the poems in this volume can open doorways to the Silence where truth dwells deep within all living things.”
Published 2017.
Here is an excerpt from the poem “His Holy Will” on page 33 in the book:
pray work rest
dance dream
wear a scarf
because one loves God
be bold be meek
turn the other cheek
because one loves God
beg camp revamp
write a letter
get a postage stamp
write a tribute to Him
a Mass a communion hymn
because one loves God
draw the water at the well
take a drop from the wishing well
don’t be afraid
if you tire for a spell
because one loves God
kiss the wound
you found
hear the holy sound
let His glory
in your heart resound
because you love God.
A Friend Arrives
By Sharon Lia Robinson
each day
the wintry grey
I follow the map
of His will
a day of interruption
perception literary abduction
yet sudden change removes obstruction
the grid off the grid
His healing bid
vision hidden within
the change of the wind
December 18, 2016 Advent
Elijah
By Sharon Lia Robinson
last evening
Elijah the prophet
visited me
he arrived with
the sunset
on the early
spring wind
I poured burgundy
wine into the
turquoise clay goblet
we shared the wine
Elijah and me
we lit the candles
at my altar
when the wine
was all finished
I was ready for bed
Elijah asked me
if he could stay over
in the guest bedroom
where the cat Simone
sleeps on the high-up dresser
she jumps up there
from the bed
to see out the window
I have plenty
of extra blankets
and pillows
so Elijah was
my overnight guest
he sang me a lullabye.
*A glass of wine is placed on the Passover table for Elijah and during the Seder the door is opened for him.
Come for Tea
By Sharon Lia Robinson
come for tea
said the queen bee
there’s darjeeling
and songs to sing
every time
we meet
to drink to pray to seek
I discover
another facet
of your radiant light
in the garden
Iris and rhododendron flowers in Sharon’s garden
“whatever happened”
By Sharon Lia Robinson
whatever happened to that
lonely outsider girl
she became a
disciple of love
she planted
a small heather bush
she took her tabby cat
to a holistic vet
she made a cup of chai
sat down to write her story
she became
a disciple of love
whoever i am, i’m a fat womon (Film)
Poetry Performance by Sharon Lia Robinson © 1979, © 2014
This is a 1979 film of my early feminist poem “whoever i am, i’m a fat womon.” This poem was written in 1976/1977 and is in my 1978 chapbook, “fat womon/renaissance.” The poem is also in the anthology, “Shadow on a Tightrope: Writings by Women on Fat Oppression” published by Aunt Lute Books.
Please share/post this archival poetry film for others to see.
“whoever i am, i’m a fat womon” was originally filmed by Lynne Conroy in January, 1979. For the Theater Project of the Goddard-Cambridge Graduate Program in Social Change, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lynne Conroy and I were theater students there.
This film is a rehearsal for the Radcliffe College Women’s Theater Festival, January 1979, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In 2008 I researched and arranged for technical transfer of the 1979 reel to reel 1/2 inch videotape to DVD.
In May, 2014, Reverend Ed Evans of Sequim, Washington, did the film editing for including this film poem on my website and for youtube.
Produced by Sharon Lia Robinson, May, 2014, with screen titles and roses.
Lectio Divina
By Sharon Lia Robinson
I find Lectio Divina is a contemplative refuge for me, yet also a way for reaching back into the world. A way to find answers. The practice originated with the Benedictine Order of the Roman Catholic Church. I read a pamphlet about Lectio Divina several years ago. The practice was initially formed as a solo form of contemplative prayer.
When I began to attend Lectio Divina in a small Lenten group setting at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Port Townsend, Washington, I discovered that Lectio (Divine Reading) is now also sometimes practiced for spiritual discernment in combination with creative dance, poems, photographs and making art; even with films.
Lectio Divina, encompassing many forms of expression, is one way to “practice the presence” either solo or in a group setting.
Lectio Divina is a reading of a sacred text for meditation, prayer and discernment. This process can be done alone or within a group context. One evening, May 1, 2013, my poem In The Night Of My Heart was included for the Lectio Divina practice at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
In The Night Of My Heart
by Sharon Lia Robinson
In the night of my heart
I hold a place of healing
A sacred place of sojourn
A peaceful setting for pilgrimage
In the midnight moon of my heart
I sense a deeper truth
Yearning growing fruitful
Beyond misunderstanding
I hold this special place
Hallowed receptive knowing.
Invisible Muse
By Sharon Lia Robinson
invisible unknown muse
I feel your presence
as I write today
and yesterday too
a gift
I wonder at this mystery
a glance
a gust of wind
mysterious known yet unknown
strange silent guest
your arrival greets the winter
I sense you absorb the cold
then the green sensha tea
and rice cakes
at 4:OO pm
I seem to be
sharing the afternoon
tea with a special friend
2 Poems from My Journey Toward Wholeness (Film)
By Sharon Lia Robinson Copyright © 2002
Dancing Into Light (a poem for Meher Baba)
In the Night of My Heart
Excerpt length 2:34
The Will To Go Forward (Film)
Poetry and Dance by Sharon Lia Robinson
Excerpt from her documentary film, Edge of the Sea Gallery (1998-2003). length 1:53
I wrote this poem “The Will To Go Forward Is Connected To The Chance To Move” in August, 1978. The poem is inspired by Paul Eluard. At the time, I was beginning to create innovative dance, poetry and theater to reflect compassionate, artistic portrayals of full-figured women. In 2008, two decades after the poem was written, I produced this dance poetry film.
Haiku
By Sharon Lia Robinson
gold moon
touching blue
a night to be with the wind
leap year
leaping in all directions
sage blossoms on stone
somewhere
the sound of water
remembering
our last winter walks
how fleeting the noonday sun
connection to sky
beyond our goodbye
nature & whim
mild rain
cat naps
on a purple cushion
cat in the sun
my little dream-
dreaming
Neptune the cat
on his blue wooden table
relaxing yet watchful
Skagit Valley Forest
By Sharon Lia Robinson
tonight
light and silently smiling
the tree seemed to say
come close
the tree saying be,
be together in your soul
your center yourself
newly planted and old
they sing and say
we see you
feel yourself
know you
we are here too
in the breath of our earth
we hear you
we know you too, your reaching
we know you too, your reaching
Springtime Never Sleeps
By Sharon Lia Robinson
springtime never sleeps
it lingers dormant
in our imagination
until the next
rebirth of new
commands our view
giving us a glimpse
of our own
ongoing possibilities
forever emerging
like a glimmer
of sweetness and renewal
secretly lingering all year
within the dark
midnight of sacred hibernation.
A Quiet Balance
By Sharon Lia Robinson
all of my life
I have been
wishing for this star
a natural sense
within me
searching for the way
some bright light
yet not too bright
a soft and gentle breeze
yet the wind not too strong
a balance
between two extremes
finding my place
sharing that place of knowing
finding that purpose
searching with others
giving voice
to the quiet
voice within
through intuition
the magical harmony
repeats itself
until I no longer
hear the discord
a quiet balance emerges
against all odds
I can share
who I am,
against all odds
a quiet balance emerges,
quiet remembrance.
Passion Flower (passiflora coccinea)
By Sharon Lia Robinson
There is a legend that if you pick a passion flower, drink the nectar and then toss the petals while making a wish, you will actualize your dream.
I drink
the nectar
of the passion flower
toss the bright red petals
into the clear rocky stream
my hands
touch the earth
find one smooth
round stone
waterfalls dance
to the river.
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California 1987
Passion Flower, collage by Sharon Lia Robinson
More Poetry with Art Collage
By Sharon Lia Robinson
Creator of Light (detail)
I am an experimental collage artist.
See some of my art on this page and also see Rubenesque Landscape and Art & Poetry by Sharon Lia Robinson on the Poetry of the HeartMind website.
The Will to Go Forward
the will
to go forward
is connected
to the chance
to move…
Passion Flower
I drink
the nectar
of passion flower
toss bright red petals
into the clear, rocky stream
my hands
touch the earth
find one smooth
round stone
waterfalls dance
to the river
Sea, You Are All of Me
(for Meher Baba)
I am a rock
emerging from the sea
my skin bleeds
weaves a tide
of welcome
I am a stone
heavy and slimy
covered with
moss and algae
I am a rock
emerging from the sea
my skin breathes
a new language
remembering your love
in silence,
sea, you are all of me
Who Made This Sky
It wasn’t even
I
who mad
this sky
inside me stillness
still
it wasn’t
even I
to hollow
the moon
or reach
into the
hardness
of limbs
no longer
rejected
or dancing
into music
softly seeping
or opening the door
before such dreams
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 1987.