Soul Chicken Soup — A Poem About Mindfulness

She entered the kitchen
Tempestuously
Picked up the knife
With a storm brewing inside
Her voluble eyes tearing-tears
Slicing up the onions
Her unwholesome stream of words
Beating and frothing up the eggs
How could he!
How could he!
Running on and on inside of her

When suddenly a
Crash of thunder from the skies
Breaks her trance, shakes her up
And, the repeated lightning bolts
Softens her, as she sighs away
The first word she utters
After a long pause

‘No-hh’, ‘Nah’

‘No, No,  No’
As she steps back

Trees swaying
Side to side
Leaves chanting hymns
Trying to enliven the battered  soul
Coming through her kitchen window

She suddenly felt an invisible hug with
Deep-seated
Words of reassurance coming from within
Whispering mysteriously
In her ears
Darling, be present!
Become mindful!
All that you’re feeling
Acknowledge it

But
Make a healthy choice
And spring up
All that happened is past now
Allow yourself to focus on the present

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She needs closure
And bursts into tears —  of release, of letting go
And affirms out loud in a gurgling voice
‘I approve of my feelings’
‘I reclaim my powers right now’
And very consciously
She keeps re-affirming
‘Focus’,
‘Focus’,
‘Focus’
Not letting her mind drift to the past

She slips into
The ear-splitting discord occasionally
But ‘Focus’
Becomes her anchor
Bringing her back
In the present

She grooves into the
Ceaseless rhythm of
Slicing, shredding, spreading
Swiftly,
Creating
In the kitchen that turned cosmic
Her voice winning the match with
Her weaker inner voice, unswerving,

She renews her body, spirit and soul
With the
Fresh, Wafting aromas of
Chicken soup, baked beans,
And French toast

She had internalized her lesson
‘The power of
The present moment’

She has forgiven her
Partner in silence
She has forgiven herself too
Also, in silence

He comes up from behind
Softly humming ‘sorries’
Turning towards him
She smiles
A big, wide beautiful smile
Reaching up to her puffed eyes
Her pure and calmed soul smiles.

Looking at each other lovingly
They renew their vow of respect for each other
With his hands around her waist,
He presses an assuring interlocking kiss
On her trembling lips

The chicken soup is really ready now
To satiate their souls.

Image source: by Mizina on Getty Images, free on Canva Pro

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