Periodically on Poetry Pop, you will see a Zen Pop blog post. These posts are my way of sharing on a personal level and giving you a bit of poetic encouragement while traversing this beautiful (and often challenging) thing we call life.

Our bodies do so much for us, but it’s easy to take them for granted without realizing it. I learned firsthand through an illness how grateful I was for what my body does for me every day. At thirty-two years old, with two small children, I became sick, starting with a numb face and body, fatigue, and finally, the inability to stand or walk without falling. For the first few years, doctors thought I had MS, but I was later diagnosed with Transverse myelitis. 

While scooting around the house on my butt and relying on friends and family to help me with certain things, I promised my body that if it would heal and allow me to walk again, I’d walk every day possible and never take it for granted again.

It took years for my body to recover enough to walk to the mailbox without my husband helping me get back up the slanted driveway, lift my kids into the car, or stand at the stove long enough to cook dinner. I recovered for the most part but was left with some pain and limitations.

Twenty-eight years later, I am still keeping my promise by taking my body for a daily walk to thank it for what it does for me and to celebrate its incredible powers.

When I came across this poem by Cleo Wade, it spoke to me. I hope it moves you as well and you’ll take the time to give yourself a hug and practice gratitude for your beautiful body.

 

A love note to my body

"First of all,
I want to say
thank you,
for the heart you kept beating
even when it was broken,
for every answer you gave me in my gut,
for loving me back
even when I didn’t know how to love you,
for every time you recovered when I pushed you past our limits
for today,
for waking up.

—Cleo Wade

*Cleo Wade is an artist, poet and author of the book Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life. Her writing, accessible yet empowering, speaks to a greater future for all women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community, preaching love, acceptance, justice, peace, equity and equality.

 

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