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THE UNWELCOME TENANT

By Barbara Harris Leonhard



What is healing

but the stabbing to death of pain,

the banishment of shadows,

the release of sorrows,

the burning of poison arrows?


Healing requires arbitration & litigation.

as illness takes possession,

the uninvited occupant in our temple.

It strips away a clean visage,

creates squalor & decay,

plants bramble in the garden,

makes infertile the soil;

evades eviction.


Illness commandeers the ego,

becomes its own soul.

This loathsome dweller deceives,

creates attachments,

becomes dependable,

appears useful,

provides false amenities,

orders demolition to the heart,

lays claim to property & prosperity.


We are healers

who can vanquish this squatter

from sacred property

once we know our powers.

We the are the landlord

who owns the keys

& locks the gate.


We break this unholy contract

wrought by the wretched occupant

that creeps into our house

& garnishes our treasures.


Healing is evicting

that which does not serve,

does not align,

is unholy

to our divine.


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