Poems

The poetic voice is both beautiful and powerful. It speaks in a way that we listen with our hearts and soul, not just our heads. And I love this dimension of beyond-ness because it pulls me to places I might not otherwise go.

While I write poems, and most of my writing has a poetic voice, I also weave with the voices of other poets. The late Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue has been central in my journey, and his words from the blessing For Matins are the compass for my work:

May I live this day

Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.

+ John O’Donohue, from For Matins, in Benedictus: A Book of Blessings, Bantam Press 2007

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Most of my poems are embedded in my daily blog. And at some point, I will collate them in a book. In the meantime, here are a few, including those commissioned by others.

Slanting light
illuminating spaces
we don’t normally see,  
the gift of
looking sideways
for shadowy possibilities
the brilliance of summer
cannot find.

+ Sue Heatherington, January 2023

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IMPRINT OF PEACE

There are no limits…

Marks of a gift
scribed long ago,
colours and textures
that overwhelm
our finitude
with glorious abundance.

to the wholeness…

Fragrance of a sense
beautifully wafting
across time
and space,
illuminating darkness
and quieting our fears.

he brings.

Footsteps of wholeness
that walk to our door 
across boundaries
and divisions –
fractures restored  
by the imprint of peace.

+ Sue Heatherington, commissioned by The Presence Project in their Advent 2022 series

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PAUSING FOR GRACE

Let’s hush the noise,
turn down the echoes
and invite the
gentleness of grace
and the quietness
of compassion
to say a few words.

+ Sue Heatherington, October 2022

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UNDERNEATH IT ALL

Digging down, beneath
all the questions,
we find ourselves;
and realise that
today is sufficient
and we are enough.

+ Sue Heatherington, July 2022

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THERE IS AN AFTER

May you know that
there is an after.

Where light has pierced
the darkness
with a single shaft,
and night is no more.

There is an after…

Where brokenness is restored,
doubt becomes sight,
and those who are weary
are renewed.

There is an after…

Where beauty rises from ashes
of lives shattered and
torn apart,
and colour returns.

There is an after…

Where stony isolation
gives way to the
gentleness of being named
and known again.

There is an after…

Where hope finds its voice
and we join together
in the anthem
of new life.

May you know,
really know deep inside,
that there is an after –
because love wins.

+ Sue Heatherington, for The Presence Project, Easter 2021

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