Responsibility Archives - hennenburg.com

Empires Of Joy

Posted on 22 August 201929 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

With increasing frequency, I see around me a new and different kind of human. Most often they are young people, though not always. They have a wisdom and emotional intelligence, I would say beyond their years, but truthfully it is beyond what has ever been typical in humans at any age. They speak a language of acceptance and inclusion that is unprecedented and embody a depth of compassion that is eye-opening. They are acutely aware of what happens in the world and they act in hope. This too sets them apart – they see, they take action. And I have very often seen them respond to resistance and misunderstanding with openness, patience and kindness while remaining steadfast to principles of common good.

This is more than the optimism of youth. Their wisdom and depth of understanding at astoundingly early ages is at odds with long-accepted psychological theories of human developmental stages. I have come to affectionately refer to them as the new evolution of human, and I believe, as they step forward, more and more of us remember who we are and the power we hold in our innate love.

So FEAR, wherever you act in the world – whether through violent animosity, complacency, psychological paralysis, spiritual imprisonment or exile – you have been put on notice. We are led by a new evolution of human and we are taking back the human race!

Dedicated to my friends at YVR Pop Choir.

Empires Of Joy

Look across the land and sea
A new day is dawning
There are hearts in the horizon
Sizzling hope crazed with consciousness

Turn around if you fear,
The light will come for you anyway
Embracing all you ever were or have done
You are the chosen one

With all your fits and frustrations
Ramblings and riotous furies
You, with the storm front of worries
And the long line of casualties in your wake

This is the moment of your redemption – your chrysalis
The power of all your might
Will not call back the eventide
See the crystal spark of all you become
Rise into the blinding light

You are more than the caged experience of sight
Blissful, billowing sacrifice of want
Exchanged for gratitude
Great engulfing wave exuding
Empires of joy

Joyfully linking to dVerse Poets Pub‘s Open Link Night

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Molasses And Steel

Posted on 17 August 201917 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

To me, truth is joy, and joy is truth – one in the same. So in my view, joy does not always come in the form of happiness. It does not always contain happiness. Always, it comes with the clarity of what is true inside. And that clarity brings a feeling of freedom. Not always a celebratory freedom. Sometimes it is a freedom that is heavy with responsibility to go forth and transform something painful into something so beautiful, it is worthy of the loss that necessitated it and worthy of those who will benefit from the gift of it.

Molasses And Steel

You brought colour to my life
Black for molasses
Blue for steel
You stood for things that were not real
You stole in the morning
Then peeled away
Laying rubber, black as molasses, on scorched streets

You performed elegant and death-defying feats
You raised a glass to greet something
That would beat us into submission
You were cold, hard
Blue like steel

Peeling away the layers of skin
That healed you into my soul
Is not a goal I cherish
Or claim the wherewithal to do
But there is a piece of me in you
And whether black or blue
We both must breathe

We must leave a trace of ourselves in this world
We have to be the steel and molasses
That builds and feeds
And sweetens harsh deeds into submission
It is our composition
At least it is mine

So if I am to thrive on the brine
In the glass you gave me
Break your fast and save me
A cup of molasses

Joyfully (and happily) linking to Poets United.

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Weather

Posted on 10 July 20197 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

Weather or not
I stand
I hold to my nature
I embrace her presence
Weather or not
She is swayed
And bent
And occasionally splintered
Because we all change form
Weather or not
We persevere
We keep trying
Though the general atmosphere
Is prying at our spirit
Let love reign to the last
Weather or not

Posted for the fine folks at Poets United for the Midweek Motif: weather.

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Hope Is Not Passive

Posted on 6 July 20197 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

I hear a lot of talk about the state of the world. Often, I hear statements that begin with vision and understanding and shift quickly into sentences starting with, “but sadly… .” I hear a lot of voices filled with resignation saying “I hope… .” The implication being “I hope I’m wrong about where all this is headed.” This is not hope.

Hope is not passive.

Hope is not waiting to see what will happen. Hope is not about outcomes. Hope is making choices. Hope is choosing what you do with your thoughts, where you focus your attention, what you do in response to the challenges in your world. Hope is not passive.

Hope is investing in life. Showing up. Being here – for however long you get to be here. You wonder sometimes, “is there any hope for us, for our world?” You are our hope. Be here! I am our hope. Stand with me! All we have to do is show up, see ourselves in each other and choose accordingly.

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First Faces

Posted on 20 June 20197 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

Derived from image by Kellepics — Altered image by Kellepics

Fear is just a pioneer
Leading our way into undiscovered territory
Making of us children at the feet of a great storyteller
Where colour has no rules and form is open to interpretation
And the unexpected is the stuff of life
And the trail leads on as the story goes
And the artist knows what we fail to imagine
But the ground is broken
And the sun is high
And the first faces will break the chain of habitual seeing
And the pioneers will break their hold on the living
And no more will the roots of tyranny determine our destiny

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Heart Open

Posted on 11 June 20197 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

Heart Open is the first in the “Out Loud” series of my spoken word poetry. Any time you see the above white and orange “Out Loud” logo, click play and have a listen.

Heart Open is about living a courageous devotion to love, vulnerability and freedom and recognizing these as inherent experiences that we all share.

The opening lines, “her heart is open / and mine is watching,” were born as I watched Alicia Keys perform on television. She sang and played, heart on her sleeve, and I felt how my heart had become guarded after a few solid years of consecutive illness, brain injury and personal loss.

I perceived in Alicia Keys’ expression and performance, the fullness of love for life she is capable of enjoying because she is willing to be vulnerable in her art, and I remembered! I remembered how to achieve that experience for myself.

It is a universal experience. A universal capacity to love. To choose love. To be love. To remember that love is life, and life is the point. I am grateful that we can learn, and relearn, from each other. Awaken, and reawaken, because we see ourselves in each other and we know in our being the power of love that unites us.

Heart Open

Her heart is open
And mine is watching
Her heart is open
And mine keeps stopping to see
‘cuz if it’s her
Then it’s me
And the deluge is gonna come
And the day I run?
Woman, that ain’t gonna happen
If I’m livin’, I’m laughin’
I’m soakin’ up the sun
I’m dancin’ in the rain
I’m centred
I’m solid
And I’m sane
And if you’re gonna hit me with rage
I will stand with the almighty
The all-knowing power
Of love
‘cuz if it’s in my heart
It’s in your heart too
Sweet symphony
Sweet simplicity
Sweet, sweet synchronicity
If it’s her
Then it’s me
Then it’s you

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The Gift Of Each Other

Posted on 18 May 20197 August 2019 by H. Hennenburg

It was a war-torn yesterday
Sometimes I still wake up
And forget to pray
Pray for the living
The souls who made it through
Pray for the dying of the fears,
The sacrifice that blew through us
Pray for the waters that rinsed us clean
Pray for the loss of damn near everything
So we can breath this fresh air

Sometimes I wake sad
Because I remember
Prayers are not requests
They are thank yous
And I still carry the scars of desperation that is wanting by nature
But in truth, in sweet everlasting truth,
I am desperate for nothing
I want for nothing, and never was I in need,
Because this love was in me all along
And these scars?
They are only reminders
That I am responsible

And when the day comes,
It has me holding hands with my sisters and my brothers
And I can feel the circuitry
I can taste the music on my tongue
And we stand in this circle
And we pray for this fire that lights our faces
And ignites our smiles
And gives us the gift of each other

We pray for the morning
We pray that our hearts have won
We pray that we are not singular,
But one
And “I” is not a burden
We must bear anymore

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