Standing with Trees

⸻

Oh amada Virgen de Regla,

Madre de las aguas profundas y espejo del cielo,

Reina del mar que todo lo abraza y todo lo purifica,

escucha hoy mi voz que llega hasta tus costas sagradas.

Tú que guías a los navegantes en la oscuridad,

y calmas las tormentas del alma y del mundo,

cúbreme con tu manto azul,

y llévate de mí todo miedo, toda tristeza, toda confusión.

Madre bendita, reflejo de Yemayá,

fuente de vida, de amor y de protección,

lava mi espíritu en tus aguas sagradas,

renuévame con tu dulzura infinita.

Abre mis caminos como abres los mares,

bendice mi hogar con paz y abundancia,

y protégeme de todo mal visible e invisible.

Que tu luz me guíe,

que tu fuerza me sostenga,

y que tu amor me envuelva siempre,

como las olas abrazan la orilla.

Madre de todos, Señora del mar,

en ti confío, en ti descanso, en ti me entrego.

Amén.

and with that

sentence

the world stops

the world always stops

when woman and

divine

commingle

as if the

feminine

dilutes the

miraculous

when in reality

it embodies it

when jesus turns water

to wine

they clap

but when women turn breasts

to milk

they cringe

a broken man’s body

is celebrated each sunday

while a broken woman’s body

is just hidden away

and it’s no wonder

that mother is a word

used by men

to demonize those

who don’t claim the name

and weaponized to shame

those who step out of line

because

their ideal

woman

plays the role of nurturer

and silencer

in pews

built and led by them

but

when god

becomes mother

she is neither quiet

or compliant

she leads confidently

she questions authority

she commands respect

which might be the problem

for mother god

did not gather us up

carelessly

but took her time with it

she fed us milk

birthed our souls

and broke her body

and the permanence

can be uncomfortable

and to disentangle god

from motherhood

is impossible

but

to disentangle god

from womanhood

is sinful

because seeing god as mother

is one step closer

to seeing god in me

and it’s in that

i am truly

born again

~ Kaitlin Hardy Shetler

Kaitlin Shetler Poetry

“You can recognize your true nature by tuning into your core being (as Infinite Consciousness). At the deepest level… you are not limited to a particular race, gender, tribe, culture, status, political affiliation or religion. Consciousness is not eastern, western, Christian, Hindu, Zen, New Age or any other religion/teachings.

Consciousness is the changeless, indivisible field of unfolding possibilities not bound to space, time, name or form. It is only our socially conditioned mind that unconsciously judges, compares, competes and separates each other. Reality stays beyond the reach of the mind because it is the very space in which the mind moves in.”