Writing to ‘soul cards’ by Deborah Koff-Chapin allows women to free-associate and in many cases, helps them feel safe to write about inner material because they appear to be writing about the image in front of them. What follows is one example from this week’s circle:

A mother lost in the dark trying so hard to grow, and yet hold on to her child.
A child trying so hard to reach for the light of hope and faith, to understand.
And just like the mother, it wants to leave and see better days.
Better days for both seem to separate the two from one another.

With open hands, the child offers light and wings
to be able to fly upon the light, to expand one’s horizons.
The mother looks at the child with gratefulness;
then looks away and rather, holds on to growth of the darkness.

The child has such loyalty and unconditional love for its mother.
Although child reaches up to the light that stares with open hands,
it can’t seem to tell if child wants or needs the help as child’s hands reach up.
The light can’t tell if the child is actually reaching or waving ‘bye

to remain in the dark with its mother who lives with such cold dark emptiness
or go into the light and become motherless and alone, but in such a better place.

JR