tree of life

standing
with open arms
tree of life
silent
in the universe
tree of life

being a teacher
you're naturally handing out gifts
but you've taken it further
than numbers and words

feeding the children
icons of summer
from your daylit
handknit

sweater
with red red apples
a blackbird's baritone
scent of yellow
feel of blue
a secret route through green

in the daytime
in your daylight sweater
you're feeding the children
colours and music
nutrients building
their imagining muscles

at night
with your day mind asleep
you're standing
in the cold starry sky

standing
with open arms
tree of life
silent
in the universe
tree of life



Vera Kelgart  (with tabular 'sleeper')  2010

To sprog

Det er snart et år siden, jeg begyndte at digte på engelsk, og jeg har slet ikke skrevet på dansk i 2010. På et eller andet tidspunkt vil jeg sikkert få brug for igen at skrive på mit modersmål. Der er steder på indersiden af et sprog, der er vanskeligt tilgængelige for udenforstående ... Men lige nu fylder det engelske meget. Jeg er begyndt at skrive en ny type årstidsdigte, der i højere grad end de gamle har identitet og livsopgave som indfaldsvinkel. Jeg ved endnu ikke, om jeg vil skrive noget tilsvarende på dansk, men jeg har for en ordens skyld samlet de nuværende danske årstidsdigte og angivet perioden for at markere, at de er lidt anderledes end de nye engelske.

pink tree coach

you've found
there's a pink pulsating cloud around you
like candyfloss
from your spirited
decisiveness

your mind is heart-shaped
but your heart is mind-shaped
that's how
your deep rose pink intellectualism
becomes a loving surround sound
soothing trees

you're walking through fallen leaves
upright
in the landscape of fall

your mind and heart goes out to trees
embracing
bare branches
tracing
tree memories of leaves
leaving
etheric tracks into spring

this is going to be your life's work
and you want to teach it also

your spirit cheers another step up



Vera Kelgart  (with Isis crystal 'Nefertiti')  2010

cocoon

you come from a rooftop
on a level with the mountains
resonant with laughter
from a cheerful family
and you were the little one
in your floral print pyjamas

then the rooftop was gone

there's a light green thread in you
from the floral print pyjamas
like the green at early dawn

a timeless lifeline
rushing to the future
always weaving a cocoon

hoping
on a level with the mountains
you wanna give it to the world
you wanna give it to the world

there's a light green thread in you
weaving a safe cocoon
a timeless lifeline shimmering
along the future

hoping
on a level with the skyline
you wanna give it to the world
you wanna give it to the world

hoping
a light green lifeline
you wanna give it to the world
you wanna give it to the world



Vera Kelgart  (with smoky Isis crystal)  2010

unifying

since forever
you've had this blue and blowing dress
like harebells
made from the sky

you sense it
as a force field of rest
a blue and blowing meadow
fortifying your body

unifying
humanity
in a still place

you are
blue dots connecting

not losing yourself
but loosening your self

unifying
reconnecting the dots

reassembling yourself
in a blue and blowing dress
like the sky
made from harebells



Vera Kelgart  (with Isis Arkimer) 2010

see

you drop pretending
unpack your dolphin
slip it on your sleek self

sea rider
hurrying to the rescue
already

they used to laugh when
you fell through air
gasped on earth
sizzled in fire
now they'll sea for themselves

you zip your dolphin up
your sleek self
your two eyes visionary
your third for hearing SOS

hurrying to the rescue already
sea rider

they never understood you
but now they'll sea you
in the sun's glitter



Vera Kelgart  (with double terminated 'grey healer')  2010

favourite

you're searching for your health
finding it deep inside you
a tiny orange ball
stuck in a blind area

you catch it with your mind
setting it free to go bouncing
it blurs dissolves
into a big orange shawl

wrapping your body
in true music
from years ago



Vera Kelgart  (with double terminated 'grey healer')  2010

You come from ...

Poems starting with these words ('Du kommer fra ...') are special. They're inspired by the vibrant, multicultural crowd of girls using the library. The girls seem to be sort of designing their identities from an innovative blend of their family history and cultural roots - and their own lives as contemporary Danish school kids.
In a wider context, I feel that these poems are about the quintessential teen spirit.

night jeans

you come from night
a rich black scenic curtain
behind the lives
of even the poorest people

night
the rich black scenic myth
of your early life

day is reality in jeans
day is easy to know
isn't mythic
is just now

but night is part of
the start of
you before reality
a quality
you want to be part of

you love night
its rich black scenic curtain
you're shaping it into hearts
trimming with pearls black shiny

you're patchworking
on your day jeans



Vera Kelgart  (with citrine channeling crystal)  2010

caring

you need to rest
in the light grey morning-night

snuggling in the dark folds
of the universe
caring for the passionate you
struggling to get up
and participate

but wait
just a little bit
listen to the blackbird

you are a flame tulip girl
you want your red tulip skirt
but wait
just a little bit

your red silk will be ready
when you're rested
caring for the passionate you

but wait
just a little bit
listen to the blackbird



Vera Kelgart  (with tabular crystal)  2010

lilac

you've been crouching
all crumpled up
in a green leaf
with a fight going on around you

now you're speaking
you just can't stop
it's a desperate situation
but you don't do desperate

you just can't help unfurling
your frills of light

everybody's waiting for you
everybody's waiting for you
now you're speaking
in frills of white

the world isn't perfect
but you can't wait for perfect

everybody's waiting for you
everybody's waiting for you
so now you're speaking
your frills of lilac light



Vera Kelgart (with channeling 'dreamer') 2010

time

snow is falling
but you are not
you're wading knee-deep through it
with loved ones by your side

winter
you laugh and meet it
you'll still be wearing
your strong turquoise time

your spring was just young
your summer heated
your autumn stormy wet

winter
you celebrate it
you'll still be wearing
your strong turquoise time

snow is falling
you're wading knee-deep through it
in your mind's eye

winter
nothing can beat it
you'll still be wearing
your strong turquoise time

you'll still be wearing
your strong turquoise time



Vera Kelgart (with multi-terminated crystal) 2010

Background

Born in 1950, I was always a writer, though not a published one. In 1980, I decided to concentrate on writing poetry, but soon found myself on a veritable vision quest, searching for the true meaning of artistic expression. Years later, my interest in creative visualization and guided imagery sparked some useful ideas. By 1995, my new poetry was born. I named it Vitalpoesi ('life-enhancing poetry').
Around the same time, I discovered the magic of the mineral kingdom, greatly inspired by the books of crystal healer Katrina Raphaell. At first, all kinds of crystals and stones were catalysts for my poems. Later on, I chose clear, smoky and citrine quartz crystals as facilitating tools. They still are, as well as a beautiful and fascinating part of my daily life.
Today, my poems are images of 'energy clothes': human beings expressing their identities through colours of life and hope. This poetic form owes a lot to my interest in clothes and personal style.
Other sources of inspiration: Nature and the rhythm of the seasons. Working in a public library, meeting children from immigrant and refugee families; their resilience. Ideas of the millennium and the return of the Divine Feminine, as found in new theosophical spirituality.
I started publishing my poems on the Internet in 2001; however, only since December 2008 on Blogger and with an archive.
My voyage into English is a very recent project, as of January 2010.

small gull

you come from chaos
with a memory of your grandma
holding a heart of gold
giving it to you

now it is sewn into
your brown down jacket
your dull protective colouring
against the cold

now you are here
you are growing
you're not exactly without fear
but inside brown
you are golden

the ice on the water
has cracked into a jigsaw
like puzzled thinking

a gull standing still
on a piece of ice
without sinking

now you are here
you are going
you don't know exactly where
but inside the down
your heart is soaring

can fly
can swim
can stand



Vera Kelgart (with tabular crystal) 2010

Vitalpoesi på engelsk

Jeg har længe ønsket at supplere mine danske digte med digte på engelsk. I første omgang forsøgte jeg at oversætte et par digte, men var ikke tilfreds med resultatet. Det er svært at oversætte poesi, da det ikke kun er ord, men lydbilleder og stemninger, der skal gendigtes. Derfor opgav jeg ideen om oversættelse, og er nu sprunget ud i at skrive direkte på engelsk. Foreløbig er det kun blevet til et enkelt digt - det vil nok gå lidt langsomt ...
Men det er en spændende udfordring.

waving

you are weaving
your dreambody
from blue waves
in a heartbeat

you are reaching out
to stop tsunami waves
with your blue see-through
train of thought

you are reaching out
to humanity
wearing clearest blue
never weary

your dreambody believing
in the planet



Vera Kelgart (with dolphin crystal) 2010