SOUL MATES: The Poem That Started It All

How deep is the pool that is your soul?
What harm if I stay a while and
Immerse myself in its stillness?
Dare I dive straight in and risk drowning
Or should I stay safe in the shallows?

Relaxation washes over me in the warmth of your smile
And as the intensity of your gaze engulfs me,
I discover that my own soul is already lost to you forever...

©2009 Caren Carter


This poem is ‘the one’ that sparked this creative journey, allowing me to rediscover the writer who was lost within me. It was the first poem I had written for over 20 years, and was a deeply personal creation, written as a gift for a friend. When I started to share my writing later on, I revealed subsequent poems first, keeping Soul Mates in the shadows until I felt the time was right for it to be shared. I still don’t know why I was quite so protective over this poem. Maybe I was surprised by the depth of feeling within it and by how precious this first poetic effort felt to me. Somehow it felt wrong to expose it to the scrutiny of family and friends in the early days. This piece of work was a piece of my fragile creative soul and I couldn’t risk receiving any criticism of it.

Soul Mates serves as a testimony for the love and depth of connection that can exist when your heart is open to friendship without expectations or demands. A strong bond of friendship and trust has been forged; nothing more than acceptance and understanding required. It’s a liberating experience, providing me with an inspiring model for how relaxed and rewarding friendships can be when you understand each other. Now I endeavour to replicate these qualities across all relationships in my life. I’ve observed so often that friendships can be burdened unnecessarily with unrealistic expectations, leading inevitably to disappointment and I don’t want any of my friendships to ever feel that way. I wonder why it is that we don’t cut each other a little slack sometimes; we would certainly be happier for it. Instead of asking ourselves ‘why did my friend let me down?’, would it be more revealing for us to ask ‘why can I not allow my friend to make mistakes?’. Do you remember how great it feels when a friend shrugs their shoulders and genuinely accepts an apology, instead of making you feel bad for letting them down? Being a good friend is as simple as that, and I’m challenging myself to be that kind of person.

The friendship which has served as such an inspiration also taught me the value of being still and enjoying the calming silence that flourishes between people who are comfortable in each other’s presence. I strive to exercise this skill throughout my daily life and believe that I have become a more confident and contented person for it. I no longer worry about filling silences with unnecessary chatter, revelling instead in the serenity of having a still mind. I try to speak only when I feel that I have something worth saying (friends and family will be queuing up to point out that I have some way to go before I may claim I have mastered this art).

My first poem was written because I wanted to give a friend a special Christmas gift but couldn’t think of anything I could buy which would convey how much they meant to me. It is certainly a monumental twist of fate that my desire to bring pleasure to a friend brought about a creative awakening which promises to bring exponential benefits to my own happiness and wellbeing. My faith in the mysterious ways of our universe has been rekindled; I put a relatively small amount of energy into a seemingly insignificant task and am now reaping rewards far outweighing my investment in creating this poem.

Writing undoubtedly assists me in my quest for inner quietness. I write poems filled with my worries or desires and once I’ve committed the words to paper, I rarely feel the need to continue contemplating the topic. My mind is released for further creativity and more rewarding pursuits. Writing has truly been a gift to my mental wellbeing in this regard. If you constantly find troublesome thoughts buzzing around your mind draining your energy, I would urge you to pick up a pen and notepad and start writing. You will be surprised how therapeutic committing your thoughts to paper can be. You may succeed in releasing the writer trapped within, as I have done.