Harvest of the Soul: Navigating Loss and Finding Joy

The shadows lengthen, the light fades away
As harsh words echo, resounding dismay
Though effort was made, good faith demonstrated
They met you with scorn, all help you needed
Blindness of heart leaves them crippled, confounded    
While you must press on, though battered and wounded

The olive branch offered, met fists of stone  
Repaid your kind words with mockery, derision
Yet still you hoped that their hearts might be softened
That dialogue, reason, might ease the division
But brick walls will be brick walls, cold and unmoving
And time is too precious for those unimproving

As tree yearns for sun, so your soul needs light
Yet they'd block the rays, keep your world dimmed in night    
Can you water a plant while shut off from the sky?
Without light from above, all good things will die
If warmth and care can't enter, you'll only grow colder
It's time to move on where Australia's sunshine holds you  

The bird needs the winds, currents to soar without fetter
An ocean, not puddle, for the heart's depths to unfurl
You gave them your soul, but it fell flat as a stone
Now stop casting pearls before faces of clay
Shake the dust off your feet, let their laughter fade away
Your wings need the skies, your heart needs horizons
It's time now for flying, no more compromising

The seedling, when stunted, gets replanted anew    
So too for the soul needing nurture and room
The treadmill of trauma leaves faith dry as dust
When all that you get back is rejection and disgust
Protect now your spirit, the most precious possession
Don't cling to dead branches, but seek new connections

The camel lays down when no strength can remain
So too the heart bows when there's no help to gain
When courtesy is met with increasing disdain
And patience rewarded with nothing but pain    
The well now runs dry, you must move where it flows
Or dig deeper within, where hope's reservoir shows

The help that you need won't materialize out of ether
It starts from within, flows out to each other  
The love you would share begins self to self
Touch your heart of hearts, connect to your wealth
Of wisdom, compassion, dreams yet to unfold
Trust Pilgrim, the journey makes riches from gold  

You are not the reason, you hold no blame  
The fault lies elsewhere, things won't stay the same
The river keeps flowing, no matter the stones
So too will your current leave hardships behind
What matters is now, the path just ahead
And the friends who walk with you, not those who misled

Your spirit knows truth, even when minds disagree    
Intuition whispers, "This is not meant to be"
Keys just don't fit locks no matter how you try
A circle won't fill a square no matter how you cry
Now is the season to open a new door
And welcome the fresh air, shut out what made you poor

A new day is dawning, the future’s unknown
Each breath is a chance to re-orient your sails  
As Columbus found shores beyond his old map
You’ll discover new lands if you can loose your wrapped
Mindset of limits, of “not enough-ness”
Trust, Pilgrim, trust, there are new worlds to bless

Difficult goodbyes allow for joyful hellos
Just one closed track opens to a dozen new trails
What appears an ending ushers in a beginning
Have hope, have courage, there is no ceiling
On how high the heart soars when released from its cage
You hold now the key, turned fresh to a new page  

The soul, as the sea, suffers not from redundancy,
Returned waves gain new gifts deposited on the shore
Each push and each pull carves islands from mountains
So too will this loss leave your strengths even stronger
What chiseled the master were tools of erosion
Embrace now the gifts hidden in deviation

The heaviness felt now gives root to new wings   
The sorrow that burdens bears promise of flight
The phoenix that burns turns ash into fire  
So too will your loss give you wings to rise higher
Have patience, have grace, for these words will unfold
When mind makes a weight, spirit shapes it to gold

The deepest of wells fill from underground rivers
So too does heartbreak channel strength from the soul  
When hurt strikes, withdraw to your own private garden
The answers you seek rest beneath sacred soil
Keep planting, keep sowing, harvest will come  
You reap now in anguish, the future bears plum

What seems bleak and barren holds seeds yet to sprout
Rejection and ridicule only hide what is not yet out  
Wrap now your heart in the loam of self-love
Water gently each day, nourish, seek light from above
All gardens need tending, weeds pulled, soil turned
Work in love's seasons, soon joy will be earned  

The butterfly once confined now dances on breezes
Freed from its shell by endeavor sincere
You've outgrown the forms that once gave you shelter
No longer defined by external spheres
What you are becoming has no words, no image
As sun births the dawn, rise, Pilgrim, and manage

The artist who masters works long in seclusion
Immersion and practice hone skill beyond what's illusion
So too in the cauldron of sorrow and pain    
Your essence is brewing, you'll never be the same
You long for their smiles, their looks of elation
But now wise enough know facade from jewels true  

The lotus bloom rises through murky confusion
Though mired in mud, it springs skyward through intuition   
So too you will rise, though lost now in fog
You hold secret maps, power yet untapped
New lands await you, where joy is the norm
Stay true to your vision, future will conform

The oak tree grows strong when the branches are shaken
Its roots must stretch down as its limbs are wind-raken
So too you will grow wise and weather each gale    
Stand tall, stay rooted, determined prevail
What living gives bursts forth from time under pressure  
You're more than they know, trust your heart's buried treasure

The diamond requires time, heat, and darkness  
To crystallize into jewels of peerless starkness
So too in the crucible of shadow and fire
Your mettle is honed, rising ever higher
Cleave now to your conscience, align to your passion
These waters will break, soon calm tides beckon  

Steps etched in the mountain remain for ages
Though climbers move on, carved marks still engage us
So too what you've gained is yours to keep forever    
Hard lessons spell growth, though unsure where they lead  
You've conquered the cliffs and gazed on vistas unbounded
Climb now the unseen peaks; joy waits there uncounted

What sculpted the master were tools of erosion
Each season took something, revealed hidden dimensions  
So too will this loss leave your strengths ever growing
Cling not to dead forms, but seek new expressions  
The seed becomes tree becomes forest, ever advancing
Stay true to your soul song, keep nature’s steps dancing

The pearl comes to beauty through darkness and friction
A grain causes pain, but a gem comes to lighten
So too you will shine, though the cost feels so steep    
Stay true to your vision, sow faith, dare to reap
This hurt carves a chamber, your heart open wider
Come forth as the lotus, elate and wiser
 
The quilt retains lessons from pieces of stories
Though scraps seem but rags, together a new glory  
So too your lost hopes can be stitched into wholeness
Each square in the pattern reveals life’s true purpose
The blueprint you follow transcends human perception
Trust inner direction, fulfillment inception

The voyage into night allows the glory of sunrise
So too this dark sea leads to shores undiscovered    
Each wave draws you nearer to self yet evolving  
No captain nor compass can map what’s resolving
Within your own being, center, creative fount
Stay true to your innocence, nature leads the account

What seems to be silence holds melodies building
The interludes call you to listen deeper still  
So too this quiet center performs its own channeling
The truth of your essence can’t be held or handled
It flows as a spirit none can divide or diminish
Stay anchored in this stream, all worlds come to furnish  

The mind loves its reasons and thrives on defenses
Yet wisdom starts flowing when logic ends  
Your heart knows the truth, it’s as clear as sun burning
Stay true to its wisdom, no more doom and yearning
What seems empty space holds the key to transcending
Stay bold in your faith, joyful new worlds pending  

With time and compassion, you'll gain perspective
To see that not they but their pain was the source    
Their hurt became hurling of stones upon stones
And your heart the surface receiving those blows  
So in time's fullness, once distance allows
You'll forgive, let go, though for now grieve the loss

This pain carved a canyon you'll fill with compassion
And gratitude starts flowing in light of each lesson
The rattlesnake's venom immunizes its maker  
The toxin that hurts turns a healer still greater
Stay strong in this knowing, though doubt clouds the mind
The answers you seek rest now just behind

Where rivers meet oceans no barriers can block them
So too when twin souls join in purpose sincere    
No distance or difference need stall love's expression
Waters will rise, flow together to here
Your job is keepCurrent, know grace intercedes  
Joy comes in natural flow, spirit succeeds

All streams end in oceans, no exceptions exist
Whatever the course, joy is found where they meet   
You are not the first to feel hardship and loss  
Stay true to your vision, soon comfort will greet
And laughter will follow, then wonder sublime
Keep eyes on the speck out at sea-future time  

The friendship that's tested shines forth even stronger
So too in adversity, truth is revealed
Once given this insight, you shift to what matters    
The rest was but costumes, compassion concealed
Stay true to your conscience, align to your passion
Kindness will triumph, new futures can happen

Dark clouds precede thunder, then rain washes clean   
So too tribulation gives way to release
Hold fast through the tempest, keep eyes on horizon  
The sky will grow calm and spirit know peace
No storm lasts forever, all weather is turning
Your heart knows the way, joy’s dawn is still burning

The heaviness in you is the wing taking form
Though ground holds familiarity, spirit brings morning
You were not the source, nor should bear their scorn    
Stay dignified, gracious, no matter their slight
Keep soaring in spirit, soon joy comes to light

All gardens start barren before harvest's appointed  
We sow in good faith, then wait for the yield
The waiting and darkness enriches the outcome
Trust yet awhile longer, revealings will bloom    
The fruit weigh the branches when growth is completed
Your harvest awaits you, with patience see it repeated  

The chick splits the shell when the womb loses comfort   
So too the outgrown must give way for the new
Grieve not for lost forms, but set sight on new horizons
The spirit stays nudging, more wait to imbue    
Keep eyes up, stay patient, each loss bears its reasons  
Closure brings openings in life’s rhythmic seasons

Potential unopened turns stone cold with time
While new sprouts still verdant weave emerald and lime    
The life in you growing requires change, progression
No sanctified temple but each breath’s procession
Stay open, stay seeking, new perfumes will entrance
Your gifts want recipients, give life its full chance

Not knowing your brilliance, they acted in blindness
But now inner sight shows where to cast your lines
The relationships waiting glow bright on life's ocean    
Move into those sunbeams once free of confines  
Soon joy will surround you, your faith justified
All rivers meet oceans, trust the internal guide

From cocoon to caterpillar to winged migration
The call of the wild speaks through time’s invitation  
You’ve outgrown the familiar, vat strings restrict you    
No longer defined by another’s view
What beckons beyond still eludes the known quadrants
Your essence already knows, trust in its talents  

This pain cannot rob you, its power soon passes
The stumbling stones pavement for future success
Stay true to your longings, align to your essence    
The right connections await, answers manifest
Transition needs patience as new rhythms find you
Keep gently insisting, Spirit will remind you

All gardens seem barren before harvest takes form
The waiting and darkness enrich what transforms   
Stay true to your vision, have faith and keep planting
In time growth will come, set old hurt ways recanting
Your faith will bear fruit when aligned to life's seasons
Joy comes through forgiveness, grief now has its reasons















   The poem is part of a full version found in the book “Homo Sapiens” Part Part I - XVIII, written by Mawphniang Napoleon. This book is part of the popular “Homo Sapiens” book series, which can be purchased online at various online bookstores, such as Amazon. The book is available for purchase for those who are interested in reading the complete version of the poem. Remember to get all the books from the “Homo Sapiens” series, as well as other books by the same author.   So, don’t hesitate and get a copy today from one of the many online bookstores.   Khublei Shihajar Nguh,  (Dhanewad  )(Thank you )