TRENDING:

Living Alone
WHEN IT LOOKS AS IF I AM TALKING TO MYSELF
Tendrils
Braided Way Magazine
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Braided Way Philosophy
    • Staff
  • Article Categories
    • Poetry
    • Personal Journeys
    • Creativity
    • Healing
    • Paths and Traditions
    • Applied Spirituality
    • Perspectives
    • Braided Quotes
  • Events
    • Teach In 2019
    • About Braided Way Retreats
    • 2018 Retreat
    • 2017 Retreat
  • Donate

Select Page

Exuviae

Posted by Ellen Rowland | Apr 14, 2025 | Poetry | 10 |

Exuviae

I invited abundance into my life
as the guru on the app had suggested,
then sat back and waited. But in my
anticipation, I failed to notice its arrival 
as a cluster of white crocus wearing 
a crown of singing bees. I didn’t see
the budding olive trees full of golden
promise swaying in the August breeze.
Regal hoopoes skittered in the bushes, 
bee eaters wind-chimed the sky. Swallows 
nested in roof rafters, their young 
songs unheard, while I wondered when 
the riches would come my way. 
Then one bland morning, hanging laundry 
in the sun, I noticed a cicada’s gossamer 
exoskeleton still gripping the stalk of a dying 
weed, the insect itself now high in a tree
clanging its tiny cymbals together, having joined
the chorus of lusty heat. When I die, may I 
leave my own shell behind so easily, attached 
to nothing, at peace with everything
as I slip out to sing with the others.

Share:

Rate:

PreviousDoukhobors: Spirit Wrestlers
NextBroken Hearts

About The Author

Ellen Rowland

Ellen Rowland

Ellen Rowland is a writer and editor who leads small, generative poetry workshops on craft and form. She is the author of two collections of haiku, Light, Come Gather Me and Blue Seasons, as well as the book Everything I Thought I Knew, essays on living, learning and parenting outside the status quo. Her writing has appeared in numerous literary journals and in several poetry anthologies, most recently The Wonder of Small Things, edited by James Crews and Facing Goodbye by The Wee Sparrow Poetry Press. Her debut collection of full- length poems, No Small Thing, was published by Fernwood Press in 2023. Ellen lives off the grid with her family on an island in Greece.

Related Posts

Just Born

Just Born

August 14, 2020

After The Eclipse

After The Eclipse

July 2, 2021

Bending Sound

Bending Sound

February 18, 2021

Going Home

Going Home

December 12, 2019

10 Comments

  1. James H Crews
    James H Crews on April 14, 2025 at 9:19 pm

    Amazing poem, Ellen!

    Reply
    • ellen rowland
      ellen rowland on April 19, 2025 at 6:35 am

      Thank you, James!

      Reply
  2. Barbara Schwartzbach
    Barbara Schwartzbach on April 15, 2025 at 1:10 am

    Beautiful

    Reply
    • ellen rowland
      ellen rowland on April 19, 2025 at 6:33 am

      Thank you, Barbara

      Reply
  3. Christopher John Wardle
    Christopher John Wardle on April 15, 2025 at 5:49 am

    Thank you for noticing, and encouraging acceptance of the pervasive, everyday value of abundance.

    Reply
    • ellen Rowland
      ellen Rowland on April 15, 2025 at 7:15 am

      Many thanks for your lovely comment, Christopher. I love how you put it: “the pervasive, everyday value of abundance.”

      Reply
  4. Kevin
    Kevin on April 15, 2025 at 7:18 pm

    Thank you for sharing this poem … and it’s/your insight. I needed to read this! “Singing with the others” … what a beautiful picture!

    Reply
    • Ellen rowland
      Ellen rowland on April 19, 2025 at 6:32 am

      Thank you Kevin, I’m glad it resonated with you. Happy Spring!

      Reply
  5. Melinda Burns
    Melinda Burns on May 3, 2025 at 2:11 pm

    Truly gorgeous, Ellen. All that we miss and then suddenly see.

    Reply
    • ellen
      ellen on May 19, 2025 at 5:19 am

      I’m glad it spoke to you, Melinda. Thanks for your feedback.

      Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

The Braided Way

The Braided Way is a framework to see every faith tradition as a strand, braided into a larger whole of spiritual awareness. In the Braided Way, combining spiritual practice from various faiths allow us to explore sacred experience and wonder in forms that resonate with our personal spiritual needs and sacred intuitions. In today’s culture, many people shun religious dogma, but yearn for spiritual connection. The Braided Way allows the ceremonies and practices of multiple faiths to be available without the confinements of cultural dogma.

Subscribe for Notifications of New Articles

Loading

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

All Categories

  • Ancestors
  • Applied Spirituality
  • Braided Perspectives
  • Braided Quotes
  • Creation
  • Creativity
  • Editor's Picks
  • Featured
  • Fiction
  • Healing
  • Interview
  • Mysticism
  • myth
  • Nature
  • On Religion
  • Paths and Traditions
  • Personal Journeys
  • Perspectives
  • Poetry
  • Spiritual Practice
  • Uncategorized
  • Visual Art
  • Voices

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Submissions
  • Staff

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Submissions
  • Staff

Popular Categories

AncestorsApplied SpiritualityBraided PerspectivesBraided QuotesCreationCreativityEditor's PicksFeaturedFictionHealingInterviewMysticismmythNatureOn ReligionPaths and TraditionsPersonal JourneysPerspectivesPoetrySpiritual PracticeUncategorizedVisual ArtVoices

Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress