Gedichten | The Window

T H E W I N D O W

There exists within the soul of man within the torment of insanity that tries the human mind and lays to waste his humanity a window
It is a window wherein the light can glow illuminating the entire wasteland
Making barren Deserts green, enriching the entire self
Planting a seed of awareness wherein blossoms a flower of hope
And grows a tree of understanding
Preparing the way for transcendence and enlightenment
And grateful acceptance of the Path life's journey has chosen for the humble spirit, a once fearfully tormented soul
No matter how lost, forsaken, physically or mentally incapacitated a person may appear
They have within them a window still intact
It is to this window that I direct all my attention and love
Allowing for a light more radiant than the world knows of to shine

© 1993 Catherine L. Penney

The Window (recording 2014)

M O R N I N G S O N G

I have ventured towards the light of a thousand dawns and plunged the depths
Of night-times eternal raging seas.
The hallowed shores of destiny's sweet embrace
Have thrown me into savage places, while lifting me up onto the most lofty of heights.
Where heaven and hell intermingle dissolving into foggy mists; and fierce fire-breathing
Dragons adorned with angels wings, whisper songs of enchantment, enticing me into
The lands that have no voice so cannot sing.
Untangling the wildness of mind your breath sent forth a gentle breeze and watching
A white-breasted bird sail across the grey ocean sky, I heard a sweet music and felt the
Freedom of unencumbered flight.

© 1999 Catherine L. Penney

I Have Ventured music: Anonymous & Katidjah, Svarga

Mijn zoektocht naar een alternatieve weg in de GGZ leidde me in 2010 o.a. naar Catherine Penney. Haar gedicht 'The Window' dat ik in 2010 ontdekte, is het zaadje voor deze website. Cathy bewijst dat een vruchtbaar leven zonder medicatie mogelijk is, zelfs na een zware diagnose. Dit proces is uitvoerig beschreven in het boek Dante's Cure – A Journey Out of Madness van psychiater Daniel Dorman. Ook is zij hoofdfiguur in de documentaire 'Take These Broken Wings' van voorheen psychotherapeut Daniel Mackler, die ook een veel genuanceerder geluid dan de reguliere psychiatrie laat horen.

Voor mij was Catherine meer dan een voorbeeld; haar woorden werden mijn houvast. Haar gedichten — 'The Window', 'Morning Song' en 'Emergence' — werden mijn trouwe metgezellen. Later kwam 'Transmigrations' erbij, en meer. Dit bracht niet alleen hoop, maar gaf ook taal aan mijn eigen reis.

E M E R G E N C E

Dancing to escape the poverty of a future of broken dreams

Her childhood fantasies afire with glimmering fairies

Moving, swaying to the beat of an enchanted world unseen,

Unexplored, uncharted, insistent in its beckoning call to know

What is unknown. The spirit of one so drawn into the hidden

World of the soul's delight must with caution approach the mystery

Lest she descend back into mind's darker realms leaving her

Chosen path behind. Not shame nor fear of growth deters her

resolve nor determination to lay down ghosts of seasons past

Once kicking, fighting, resisting, to their well deserved eternal

Rest. With each awakening breath her heart quickens it's beat,

Quietness gives rise to chatter. The serpent emerges in full regalia

And the ancient dialogue begins again. Visions has she standing

Alone and naked bridging a landscape of the most treacherous terrain.

Navigating stormy waters, oceans and seas tumultuous rising,

Mountains and valleys blending into one. Elusive is the tranquility slumbering

Within the belly of the beast. Solitude once so invasive is now embraced

Giving voice to the song emerging from her depths.

The land of people, venturing into new territory, hidden once but not unseen

By the inner eye's curious glance; the child retreats the woman advances

And daybreak dawns casting it's light through the haunted Glen.