Between Stars and Steel Fingers: A Spiritual Journey

By Bebe Butler

Poetry, along with meditation, became a shovel I used to dig into soil I had ignored for so long . . . to unearth a beauty that for so long had seemed elusive. There are three places from which the poems in this book bloomed . . . the first is the angst that comes from the distance between ourselves and our ideals, and God. Prostrated with attempts at "sanity-maintenance" I put pen to paper, and one day and "The Way God Speaks" trickled out like a balm. Poetry has that way of speaking to us, of connecting us with some voice deep inside ourselves.

The second launching pad for the poems was electricity. In her book, Poem Crazy Susan Goldsmith Woolbridge writes about how poems live in people, places, and things that have that electrical quality. When you feel that, you know something lovely or potent is waiting to be unearthed. Finding electricity is directly related to the purity and cleanliness of our minds, to our ability to be available to the moment and free of preconceived notions. That's shy innocence, an endless discovery.

The third and final origin was a rekindling of beauty and tenderness that grew from a relationship with the Supreme Soul. It was this union that reawakened a lost ability to feel, and opened my eyes to potential I once saw as dime-sized doors. These poems are about the heights of the spirit and the low grips of humanness. They are sixty or so dances between the doldrums and Divinity .

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 12, 2002
• ISBN: 9780759682672

Bebe Butler

Annie Callahan has been a middle and high school teacher of English/Drama and Music for twenty-five years, and is a winner of Walt Disney’s Teacherrific Award for exemplary teaching. She is a film/stage actor, writer, musician, but her greatest passion is being the mother of five and Nana of nine. Having traveled a spiritual path for many years, she now facilitates journaling workshops for ‘tween and teen girls and is a Certified Trainer of Mike Dooley’s Infinite Possibilities. She, her husband and their adorable Sophie-Dog divide their time between Orlando, FL and the Western North Carolina mountains.

Book preview

Contents

DEDICATION

GREENLIGHT DARES

TWO SISTERS AND A SHORE

(cont) Two Sisters

GOD’S WISH

LAKEWATER OF STARS

(cont) LAKEWATER OF STARS

THE ODD STREAM

(cont) THE ODD STREAM

NEW SKIN

(cont) NEW SKIN

INDIAN DYES

(cont) INDIAN DYES

FREEDOM SONG

A SONG TO THE DIVINE

THE WARM ETERNITY

IF NOT TODAY

ZERO

UNARMED WHISPERS

LOSING NAME

HOME

CAUTION

THE QUEEN

WINDOWSILLS

WIND AND ROOTS

QUIET LIGHTNING

ONE INSOMNIAC DREAM

ON SOLID SKY

SUMMER MOON

ETERNITY

YOU ARE

(cont) YOU ARE

I am the one

WIGGLER’S FARMER’S MARKET

(cont) WIGGLER’S FARMERS MARKET

CHILI SAUCE

COMMUNION

(cont) COMMUNION

MIRAGE

(cont) MIRAGE

STONEWASHED TRUTH

(cont) STONEWASHED TRUTH

PREDESTINY

THE RIFT

SACRED CRANNIES

SUNSET DRIVES

AMBIENT MIST

SIPPIN’ SOUND BITES

AFRICAN MOONLIGHT

BURNING RUBBER ON THE STONES

HAVENS

THE WAY GOD SPEAKS

HOW WE PAINT THE PHOTOS YELLOW

A COWBOY SONG AND AN ENDLESS TOAST

A COUNTRY NIGHT

EYES FULL OF COBBLESTONE

JESTER

ORIGINS

INDIGO ANGEL

(cont) INDIGO ANGEL

SUNDAY DRIVES

A GOLDEN VESSEL

THE SACRED GONG SHOW

WIND

INTANGIBLE TOUCH

LETTING IT BE

A JADE SHADOW

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Stephen, Mom, Mom and Dad…and my hope is that it touches readers with as much spirit as my family has faith in these deep poems. without them my poetry would still be scattered on hard drives in deep sleeps…I also want to dedicate the collection of poems to my spiritual Mother, Father, Teacher, and Friend…God. Although writing poetry evolved from personal pain, living poetry—even if only in moments—came from the stillness, the beauty, and a love of God. These poems come from all places between the heights of realization and understanding, and low grips of human—ness when life seemed out of control, spilling me over the edges. The poems are the steps between the stars and steel fingers, a journey many of us take on our quest for meaning and magic.

GREENLIGHT DARES

The old world

creeps in

through the mouse hole,

and you can still smell yesterday…

the first day love hurt,

the second day you learned to speak

while standing