I am honored and humbled to be a guest on Stephen’s site tonight. This poem seems to be getting a great deal of attention since I posted it, so it speaks to our concerns at his time of a pandemic. Thank you Stephen! Your kind words mean a lot.
Image “The Infection” ©Martha Harris, Martha’s Artistic Flarings, artisticflarings.blog
Today we are forced to sequester to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We realize how powerful we are when it comes to our wellness because we can make choices to prevent contagion by following the CDC guidelines and being loving to ourselves and thoughtful of others by wearing masks and gloves if we must be in public to get medicine and other necessities.
While sheltering, we can take care of ourselves by resting, drinking a lot of water, and eating healthy food. We do not accept the fate of this pandemic. Our positive thinking will boost our immune system. No one can take care of our temple but us. We hold the keys to the gate, and we do not welcome tenants who create chaos of our light.
I pray for a vaccine soon, and I hope everyone can and will get one. I know I definitely will.
My sister, Martha Harris, created this amazing image of COVID-19 by layering several microscopic photos of the actual virus together. She calls the image “The Infection”. I think it is a masterpiece.
The Unwelcome Tenant
What is healing
but the stabbing to death of pain,
the banishment of shadows,
the release of sorrows,
the burning of poison arrows.
Healing requires arbitration and litigation,
for Illness takes possession,
the uninvited occupant in our temple.
It strips away a clean visage,
creates squalor and decay,
plants bramble in the garden,
makes infertile the soil,
evades eviction.
Illness commandeers the ego,
becomes its own soul.
This loathsome dweller deceives,
creates attachments,
becomes dependable,
appears useful,
provides false amenities,
orders demolition to the heart,
lays claim to property,
prosperity.
We are healers
who can vanquish this squatter
from sacred property
once we know our powers.
We the are the landlord
who owns the keys
and locks the gate.
We break this unholy contract
wrought by the wretched occupant
that creeps into our house
and garnishes our treasures.
Healing is evicting
that which does not serve,
does not align,
is unholy
to our divine.
©Barbara Leonhard, extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Image “The Infection” ©Martha Harris, Martha’s Artistic Flarings, artisticflarings.blog
Phoebemd.com is publishing a series of articles based on another poetry podcast I did on Podbean. You have seen this story of mine before, and I will tell it until I am blue in the face if it saves lives. Kids need protection – we all do – from the measles.
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Health Story
In this article, I would like to share my story of how an illness I suffered as a child affected me. Particularly with the climate of today, I hope this will help inform people of the consequences that can develop in young children who are at risk of getting certain illnesses.
It was the summer of 1957, and it seemed to have happened all at once, where I turned from an active six-year-old girl to a helpless baby overnight. At that time, my family was living in Lewistown, Montana, where my dad was a Presbyterian minister. Mom was at home with three children, aged seven to four. That summer, all three of us contracted measles. But while my siblings’ illnesses took a more benign course, I developed a life-threatening complication: measles encephalitis—a serious and potentially fatal inflammation of the brain…
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Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver 