A GOLDEN BRAID

A GOLDEN BRAID
(My mother saved a lock of my baby hair) 

Inspired by: John Bradshaw and Kathlyn Hendricks.

Dedicated to Daniel Morgan White, Joseph Campbell, and Diane Frary

Dated: July 1996 

Novelty, pursuit, confusion, conquest, once had ruled his game

Then it got, that all he sought, seemed more and more inane.

His life was full of conflict, of addictions and ill fame

He sensed that if he didn't change...he'd surely go insane.

 

There were many unkind ways, he did not want to be

Somehow, regardless of the cost, of them, he must be free.

Friends and lovers here, then gone, like dust upon a shelf

Then something cried "Just look inside, go deep within yourself".

Look at how your inner child's the window to your soul

Heal his wounds and make him smile or life...will take its toll.

 

So he got in touch with parts of him that had never had a friend

To nurture a relationship that promised not to end.

To unravel knots that kept his essence locked inside and trying

To release its love and let him soon embrace his fears and crying.

 

Unworthiness and sadness followed grief and toxic shame

What he had done was done to him and no one’s left to blame.

It mattered only that he try to put it all behind

To slay his dragons, CHOOSE his heroes, find his peace of mind

He screamed, cried, yawned and sighed much fear and anger spent.

The truth that he was seeking on the path that he'd been sent.

Just one day at a time was all that he could truly live

It gave him strength and hope he'd something valuable to give

Going deeper through the layers of both ecstasy and fright

Breathing longer, growing stronger, moving closer to the light.

Then a loving, caring feeling slowly glowed from deep inside

To expose unwelcome judgments, watch their cancers slowly die.

From the dark, a rainbow’s glow has showed, a vision that could be

About fulfillment, inspiration and of joyful mystery.

The man is smiling gently, feeling full of love and mirth

He persevered, no longer needs to justify his birth.

The loneliness and terror was a price he proudly paid

This coming home helped heal the soul

of the child with the golden braid.