dear heart of mine,
Dear heart of mine,
I’m writing to you…..yes, you
~especially that part of you I’ve draped over the line
suspended in time
dangling and exposed
like the rows of diapers I used to hang
from rough wooden clothespins
while my sweetests
clamored happily in the grass below.
Yeah, the wildly stretched part
where I’m deep marked and lumpy around the scars,
not at all smooth
and, I used to think,
kind of ugly,
squishy,
an embarrassing, easy to dismiss sort of heart,
worn too far out on my sleeve
(cover that thing up, for crying out loud).
Or so I judged.
Today I see you through some clearly different eyes
and I’m done with the harsh hating
of your soft and fragile sides,
the parts that break easy and thump loud with wound
because they love so effing hard.
And I’m fiercely grateful
and glad to call you mine.
So stretch out free and easy,
make yourself at home
because,
you want a shock, heart of mine?
I think you’re beautiful.
“Don’t give me fountains, I need waterfalls. And when I cry my tears will fill an ocean.
The pain of love I’ll accept it all as long as you’ll join me in that emotion.
Cause half of lovin’ is no fun, give it all, give it all to me.
I can stand it. I am strong that way.”
-Carly Simon
Love to you, Jennifer, from my strong heart to yours. Gosh, I have missed you and your writing. K
I love the way you are appreciating and honoring your sweet heart…..sometimes it may be fragile and sometimes it may be strong but yours is beautiful all the time…..You are always encouraging us to be more and love more and you fill us with words to ponder more…
Love you friend…
Jennifer, I’m so glad that you are at that place in your life where you can love yourself in gratefulness for just the way you are. It’s a great place to be. So many never reach that place and wish to be someone else or are always trying to impress, living a lie.
I love how you bear your heart and make yourself vulnerable. Love is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and others. I love your way with words, so beautiful.
Hugs. JB
Jennifer, how I love your big, open, real, vulnerable, beautiful, growing, strong, grateful heart!!!
WoW Jen. I especially love this line: “So stretch out free and easy,”
Blessings to you my friend.
fiercely grateful for you, jennifer.
much love from my bumpy self. xoxox
pulling. breathtakingly pulling.
Oh, how I love this. I am also seeing my heart through different eyes, you have captured the emotions so eloquently.
When I read this:
“And I’m fiercely grateful
and glad to call you mine.
So stretch out free and easy,
make yourself at home
because,
you want a shock, heart of mine?
I think you’re beautiful.”
I teared up. Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful piece.
Jennifer, so glad you share that beautiful heart of yours with us.
such a lovely choice of image and word… the delicate and beautiful blooms of spring to herald the beauty of your vulnerable heart.
Jennifer,
Your writing has the most amazing way of stirring my soul. You are so gifted, and so beautiful.
More beautiful every day!
xo, Anita
I loved this–of course, as I always do your poetry. It just works so well. And, as a side-note, LOVE the Carly Simon quote. Like we were talking about … you’re a whisperer, too. Don’t stop writing these lovely poetic entries. They are fantastic.
Oh..I love those Carly Simon lyrics. How you describe your journey towards self-acceptance and love is beautiful!
I love your
heart
fiercely beating
a tattoo
of life
lived in the passion
of being
true to no one
but itself.
It’s the best way for a heart to be.
Your heart is beautiful and I am beautiful in my heart for you.
Your heart is so beautiful indeed and I’m so very grateful that you share so much of it with us. It is a gift we find each time we visit.
A heart pumping out love. Your words create great images.
(oh the first pic sorta makes me want to sneeze. I know it’s probably just me)
I love your heart, too! If all of us had hearts as large and giving as yours, the world would be a much beautiful, more peaceful place! I’m glad you have learned to appreciate it and love it, too!
A treasure of words followed by gorgeous hand-painted art! What a lovely start to my morning…. thank you.
Your words are such a nice thing to read after being with Mom. We cherish and love the time we still have with her especially when she knows who we are. She doesn’t remember a lot of things we use to do so I tell her about it and get her to laugh even though she doesn’t remember doing it. We all have the memories of our good times with Mom even thought she doesn’t. I am always inspired and touched by your writings when I red them. I thank you for for making me really appreciate what is important in life. Love to all.
This is BEAUTIFUL. And, as often happens, the right and perfect words for me to read today. Thank you. xoxo
Jennifer,
What lovely words, you have touched my heart.
Jennifer, there are no words for how this spoke to me. Beautiful, loving words for my heart from yours. I feel your words and they soothed that part of my heart that needs touching today. Thank you for your lovely words.
Seriously. Seriously? I don’t know how you do this, time after time, pouring out a waterfall of words that go deep and then rise to the surface, pooling together in the most meaningful way. You are magic. And your heart is effing beautiful.
Seriously. Seriously? I don’t know how you do this, time after time, pouring out a waterfall of words that go deep and then rise to the surface, pooling together in the most meaningful way. You are magic. And your heart is effing beautiful.
BEEE-YOU-TEE-FULLLLLL!!!
Speechless.
“stretch out, free and easy……” …thanks for this exhale tonight, Jen….I helped myself to it, I hope you dont mind…..I tend to live so tight and tense when it comes to me and mine, happy to heap shame on myself at a moment’s notice, sure that if I dont clobber myself, I’ll get clobbered…..
“stretch out, free and easy……” …..do I dare? Yep, I’ve decided, I *do*. Life is too damn short to be waiting till the end of it to exhale…..I’m done with that. or, at least, I want to be. Maybe you could throw a little freedom prayer my way….
much love m’friend….
Liz
you have a special talent to evoke emotion with your words!
thank you from the bottom of my somewhat lumpy heart 🙂
your writing takes my breath away~xo
LOOOVE your dear, dear to me heart!
Your heart pumps beauty in ever so many ways. A true love-affair!
[…] really. Go to Jennifer Richardson’s blog and read her yummy luscious beyond WONDERFUL poem Dear Heart of Mine. And check out her Etsy shop while you’re at it. Because she’s got some good stuff and […]
[…] really. Go to Jennifer Richardson’s blog and read her yummy luscious beyond WONDERFUL poem Dear Heart of Mine. And check out her Etsy shop while you’re at it. Because she’s got some good stuff and […]
And I am “fiercely grateful” for your beautiful heart. Grateful for the way it fills you up with joy and sadness, with hope and fear, and gratitude, always gratitude. I am grateful for the beautiful way you share it here, filling our imperfect hearts with hope and goodness.
You’re a girl after MY own heart!
Your words quite often make me shiver.
You brought me to tears – especially the part about your heart being too far out on your sleeve. I adore you.
wouldn’t all of us be so much better off if we were grateful for ourselves?!!!
You sure are BEAUTIFUL Jen!!!!!! So happy you are embracing the beautiful and real YOU that God made so very unique and special. I am doing a tap dance for you right now and ending the dance with a slide of joy across the floor!!! Celebrating with you! ♥
♥Lee Ann (I finally got a new post up after a whole month..Pretty please…come and see me)
I love “~especially that part of you I’ve draped over the line
suspended in time dangling and exposed like the rows of diapers I used to hang”, and I’m so happy you see you heart “through some clearly different eyes.”
From my heart to your big beautiful heart.
xoxo
((((Jen))))
I am so grateful for the beauty of Spring and your lovely writing.
Hello ♥Jennifer,
I think you and your heart are beautiful and precious.Thank you♥
Thought you might like the following that are some favourite lines of mine – not sure who the author is –
“Do I love myself enough to see myself with the eyes of my heart?
Do I love myself enough to listen to myself with the ears of my heart?
Do I love myself enough to talk to myself with the voice of my heart?
Do I love myself enough to know myself with my heart?……”
Have a splendid day….LOVE, Susie♥
Jennifer; Hi, this is Nupur from BBTL:0
I just loved every single word you wrote! And I love this song and lyrics. I could relate with everything so well. And enjoyed the vivid art. Gardening is my passion. In fact, I am in the process of redesigning my small terrace garden as I stay in an apartment.
I will drop here whenever I can and enjoy the words and colours. Keep writing