The Language of Emotions

The intensity of aliveness

Photo of me, by photographer Helge E. Johansen

I am learning the language
Of my emotions
The trembling feeling
In the cold
When the heart burst open
In flames
And everything
Feels out of place
The sigh
Of pain
In the cold rain
Feeling the smoke rising
From the quenched flames
As a cleansing wind
Of burning incense

It all has its rhythm
Its own universe
Of being
Unleashed
Uncontrollable
And thats why we fear it
The emotional overload
A heart pounding
At the door
Wanting to escape
The intensity
Of aliveness
Running as wild horses
Through the nervous system

It wants to be free
To let it move
Safely through the fields
Of our body
To find a way
To be expressed
As rivers of emotions
In laughter and tears
A jungle of dreams
Bursting out
Of the human longing
To be seen
In the vulnerable
In what is real

To be held
In the vast container
Of expression
To let it be felt
In a safe space
To find room
For our feelings
In ourselves
In society
We need space
To let the emotions move
Without any shame
Without adding a name
On top of the pain

Let it be
Let it be free
Let your quenched flames
Ignite again
To warm your heart
So you can heal
The bottled up emotions
The hidden waterfalls
Of joy
From the depth of your being
Let it come
As a freeing
Breath
To align
With your conscious self

As you dance
The embodiment
Of the emotional waves
You honor your self
In being
Authentically you
Gracious and strong
Wild and calm
Deep and shallow
The moon
Exposes the shadows
Dancing between the clouds
Shining on the waters edge
Bringing beauty
To the wholeness
Of the real
Emotional experience
Of ourselves

Poem by Ida K. Balle 2021