APRIL – Broken heart
by Penelope Best
My Body Map Story
Broken heart
My mouth … MY mouth … ow!
Jaw, lips, hair, hands, belly, shoulder, feet
Riveted jaw, parted lips, cartoon hands, soft belly, sharp shoulder, twisted feet
Aging fingers, creased skin, arthritis inside out
Upside down multi-coloured hands, textured surprise, gnarled beauty exposed
Heart , mind, soul – is this not where we travel?
Malfunctioning heart, befuddled mind, aching soul
Autumnal thistles tangled with soft down from the earth
Coiled thread, fine wire springs, threaded through my gut
Memories, tastes, butterflies
Called by a turning point, a moment shouting for attention
Now together, not alone … listening, witnessing, sharing
Co-making, inter-relating , subtle exchanges , sudden exposure
Touch , near touch, ‘don’t touch’, ‘don’t look’, ‘please look’
Intimate tracing, hair’s breadth closeness… I risk , we dare
Touch, touching ,being touched, asking for touch and tears flowing
Not knowing why, why now this moment, trusting the essence will be safe
Uncovering a Broken heart when searching for healing
Searching for soothing of physical organ,
Pumping erratically stretched beyond capacity
Yet instead…bumping up against the heart itself broken
The yearning broken heart of disconnection and loss
Arriving body distressed, leaving body caressed and … seduced
Knowing the journey continues
Dear Penelope, how beautiful to receive such deep healing this evening looking at this body map, my left shoulder and arm have been causing me discomfort for months, and I am slowly piecing together the layers, one by one. Looking at this picture I was shown a healing wave of energy coming in on the left side of the body, coming onto the heart, that matched my wounding and I felt a lot of support coming through my body. Thank you for sharing your picture and journey. HM
Lovely to hear your comments HM. I wish you well for your healing journey ad am so glad my map ( and my poem linked to the heart) may support your energetic wave.
Penelope, this work is truly wonderful and very moving. Looking through this, and in fact all of the exhibition, touched something very deep and sad and beautiful in me.
I’m promising myself to come and do some more work with Annette as soon as I am able.
Clare
Thank you very much for your comments. Yes, do go and do some work with Annette who provides a safe space for deep exploration and with other women who are walking a similar path
Dear Penny,
As I witness your story and your map, a sadness waves though my body and tears come to my eyes. Thank you for sharing your broken heart, it speaks to the broken in me. I also smile at your ‘seduction’ and feel the softness of that caress. May the journey always continue. With love, Christina Greenland
Thank you , for your words and your tears. And yes’may the journey always continue’; I am seduced by this idea…. thankfully. thanks for your presence – love Penny