10 Poems to Bring You Peace
because even in this there is peace
Hello!
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Do you feel it, too?
The noise is being turned up.
There is a tension in the air and an unsettledness closing in.
The holidays are approaching.
Calendars are being filled.
Political ads are growing louder and louder.
Division, heartache, disaster, and fear are sweeping across the world.
It’s becoming too much.
In all of this, all I really want is peace.
Maybe you feel the same way.
That’s the reason for this post.
I hope it is a calm invitation into peace.
As you read, take your time.
Slow down and sit with the words.
Share them with a friend who is wrestling with the heaviness of life.
Some of the poems below are available to be heard on Spotify and other streaming platforms under the artist name Written to Speak and The Stillness (a project in collaboration with singer-songwriter Blake Flattley).
Enjoy!
One / The Stillness
Before today begins, let the mercy of another morning meet you right where you are.
Open your hands and receive the invitation to join the stillness.
Feel the hand of grace remove the weight of your past.
Let yourself be still and breathe free and believe that goodness is not gone, but is following closely.
As the light touches the sky, see that hope is not distant, but it is here.
Right where you are, hope is here.
And what a gift it is to be here and to embrace the stillness.
Two / The Long Way Home
From my book, Walk A Little Slower: A Collection of Poems and Other Words
..
I’m choosing to take the long way home.
I’ve checked the map and studied story after story.
My finger has run beneath every line, and I’ve come to realize that even when there are storms in the sky, there are always ways to remain hopeful and dry.
I’ve got enough soul in my step to keep from sinking and plenty of promises that keep me from panicking.
Along the way, my dirty hands will continue to fold as I pray.
Maybe I’ll even stumble upon the right words to say.
And today, like it glows at the end of the tunnel, so does the light burn bright inside, reminding me I can take another step.
And I will.
One foot in front of the other with the grace and peace that has led me to be where I am and will take me to where I am going.
And I am going forward and, like I've always found before, I will find that hope has been within me the entire time.
I don’t know what is ahead, and I don’t need to know.
I've lived through what is behind and somehow, I stand here alive.
I know where I am going.
And this time, I’m choosing to take the long way home.
After all, I’m going home.
Three / For When Life Gets Hard
Four / Every New Day
From my book, Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope
..
Every new day I remind myself that this day, the one right in front of me, is a gift.
A beautiful and simple and intricate and loving gift.
A gift thought of long before it even arrived and I am invited to open it up and come alive.
I am allowed to feel and explore and love and dream and create and cry and try and spread hope and give back and hold on.
I am welcome to rest and write and daydream and forgive and be forgiven and celebrate.
I am invited to walk beneath the sun and sit below the stars at night and pray out loud or in my head or with my hands.
This day, the one right in front of me, is a gift.
And I am not going to let it pass away.
Five / Coffee & the Sun
I woke up before the sun today. For a while it was just me and the moon before the sun decided to rise and shine and I was wondering when he would join the sky. The light met the darkness and they made midwestern small talk, saying hello and goodbye, making beautiful colors as the morning ticked by. The sun is never late, but always on time and it was time for me to get on with the day. I made coffee that was dark like the night, warm and full like the sun shining bright. I sipped slow, like the morning, quiet like before the night came to an end, alone like I was before the sun decided to rise and shine. Coffee and the sun, both reasons to wake up before the light, both reminders of grace and what I tell myself every night: It’s all going to be alright.
Six / Just Wait
When you find yourself in a season of searching, just wait.
Give yourself another minute or moment or month.
You aren’t lost, you’re still found.
The questions are heavy and the way forward is unknown, but wait.
Just wait.
Open your hands and heart a little bit wider
to receive the beauty that comes with enduring
the passing of time.
Remind yourself of what you’ve learned along the way:
It’s going to be okay.
Give it time.
This won’t last, but this too will pass.
Just wait.
Seven / Change is Coming
Eight / You’ve Been Carried
Pull over and pause.
Turn around and see how much space you’ve put between where you were and where you are.
Look at the hills and valleys, mountains and memories.
See the miles, months, and moments of uncertainty.
You’ve journeyed through storms and seasons, questions and answers.
Look back and see how far you’ve come.
Turn around and see how far you’ve been carried.
Hallelujah.
You’ve been carried.
Nine / There is More Happening
I am where I never thought I would be.
But I am beginning to believe there is more happening than I can see.
And for now I just need to slow myself down as I trust and breathe.
I just need to trust and breathe and believe there is more happening than I can see.
Ten / Start Your Day With God
Start your day with God. Pour a cup of coffee and watch as He brings the sun into the sky. See as He moves the darkness away with His light. Join with the silence and listen as the world begins to wake. Ask God your questions. Give Him your praise. Be in His presence. Remember He cares. Remember mercy was made for you. Remember your belovedness. Remember yesterday is yesterday and today is today. Remember newness is possible. Remember His grace is for you and His grace never ends, but continues to find us again and again.
Thanks for reading.
With hope,
Tanner
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This was so refreshing - and beautifully timed.
Thank you
The poems are wonderful and moving