Malika Ndlovu
This is how you heal
Slowly
Honestly
You waste no time
Asking why you
Why this wound exists
Instead
Courageously
Gently
You ask its name
You listen for resonance
With any place
You heart has been before
You open wider
Give permission
To tears, rage, shame
Allow their salt
To purify the site
And in the slightly numb
Subsequent calm
You ask the real questions:
Why did I draw this into my life story?
Where are similar roots, patterns in my history?
What did I learn or gain back then?
What do I need to do, say, try…again?
Once more, be still
Gentle
Listen deeply
Now the silence will offer
Its ultimate service
And with certainty you will know
How this very wound
Could help you grow
What you are still clinging to
Follow that ache and burn
Repeat this process
Until the lightness in your chest
The turbulent ocean of your mind
Washes you up to a new shore
Now rest.
Honour your conquest
Your transcendence
Of ego-games, of fear
Wrap yourself
And the changing wound
In gratitude
Tie a ribbon around the part
That belongs in the past
Keep your light focussed
On where your pain has led you to
The soil is fertile by now
Observe where new life has begun
Stay alert for life’s clues and cues
Along your path
Stay in the haven of your heart
Keep its doors open
To avoid suffocation or blame
Sway, dance, play
To the rhythm of its music
There is always a song
Composing itself in there
Remember
To know the myriad faces of love
Is the sole, unmistakable reason
You are here.
Featured at The Red Wheelbarrow on 5 May 2022