VOLUME 3 |NUMBER 2 |2012 25
You call me.
tribal voice within
quieter than breath
awakening my essence
You coax me.
song i can’t resist
luring me
with whistles on the wind
You envelop me.
beauty to behold
entwining melodies
embroidery within my soul
Is this the muse?
This tribal voice?
This heartfelt cry?
This whispering force?
With open face and open heart
I hear, I taste, I feel.
Vibrations of creation
No longer can lie still.
Humbly I acquiesce
Spirit’s imprinted symphony.
Rhythmic ancestral echo
Tunes every cell in harmony.
Beckoning I surrender
With honor and a dance.
My heart glides in joyful unison
The triumphant shout of “YES!”
~Carol Welch
April, 2007
Spotlight
Lies to protect
Within stir rage
Hypocritical roles
Upon life’s stage
Words of deceit
In wisdom's guise
Murders the heart
Falsely blinds eyes
Tell me the truth
Straight to my face
Treat me with dignity
Naked with grace
Now or later
The price will be paid
Don’t lie to protect
This masquerade
~Carol Welch
March 21, 2007
Imprint
About the Artist
Carol Welch
was involved in an authoritarian
Bible-based group, The Way
International, for 28 years, from 1977
through 2005, from the age of 18
until she was 46. In 1981, during her
fourth year of involvement with The
Way, she became physically ill with an overresponsive
immune system. In 1998, she began to journal,
eventually writing her way out of The Way and into
wellness. Since she exited the group, Carol has educated
herself on group dynamics and cultic influences, and she
continues to do so. A narrative of her story is published
on her main Web site at tossandripple.blogspot.com
Carol resides in North Carolina with her husband of
almost three decades and in close proximity to their two
adult children. She is the owner of a pet-sitting service
and enjoys writing, art, nature, and animals. One of her
dreams from her teenage years is to thru-hike the
Appalachian Trail—a dream she realized as possible
only after having regained her physical wellness and
exiting The Way.
Select pieces of Carol’s poetry have been published in
four different poetry anthologies. She makes public
many of her memoir pieces and poetry on the World
Wide Web. Her poems and a memoir piece were part
of the Phoenix Project of Ex-Member Art and Literary
Work as part of the annual ICSA conference in 2012
in Montreal. ■
You call me.
tribal voice within
quieter than breath
awakening my essence
You coax me.
song i can’t resist
luring me
with whistles on the wind
You envelop me.
beauty to behold
entwining melodies
embroidery within my soul
Is this the muse?
This tribal voice?
This heartfelt cry?
This whispering force?
With open face and open heart
I hear, I taste, I feel.
Vibrations of creation
No longer can lie still.
Humbly I acquiesce
Spirit’s imprinted symphony.
Rhythmic ancestral echo
Tunes every cell in harmony.
Beckoning I surrender
With honor and a dance.
My heart glides in joyful unison
The triumphant shout of “YES!”
~Carol Welch
April, 2007
Spotlight
Lies to protect
Within stir rage
Hypocritical roles
Upon life’s stage
Words of deceit
In wisdom's guise
Murders the heart
Falsely blinds eyes
Tell me the truth
Straight to my face
Treat me with dignity
Naked with grace
Now or later
The price will be paid
Don’t lie to protect
This masquerade
~Carol Welch
March 21, 2007
Imprint
About the Artist
Carol Welch
was involved in an authoritarian
Bible-based group, The Way
International, for 28 years, from 1977
through 2005, from the age of 18
until she was 46. In 1981, during her
fourth year of involvement with The
Way, she became physically ill with an overresponsive
immune system. In 1998, she began to journal,
eventually writing her way out of The Way and into
wellness. Since she exited the group, Carol has educated
herself on group dynamics and cultic influences, and she
continues to do so. A narrative of her story is published
on her main Web site at tossandripple.blogspot.com
Carol resides in North Carolina with her husband of
almost three decades and in close proximity to their two
adult children. She is the owner of a pet-sitting service
and enjoys writing, art, nature, and animals. One of her
dreams from her teenage years is to thru-hike the
Appalachian Trail—a dream she realized as possible
only after having regained her physical wellness and
exiting The Way.
Select pieces of Carol’s poetry have been published in
four different poetry anthologies. She makes public
many of her memoir pieces and poetry on the World
Wide Web. Her poems and a memoir piece were part
of the Phoenix Project of Ex-Member Art and Literary
Work as part of the annual ICSA conference in 2012
in Montreal. ■
