Mysteries of The Shell

Over the past days, I found myself contemplating the essence of integrity; not as a concept, but as a living presence that quietly shapes our path. From that reflection, these words emerged, carrying the stillness and strength that integrity holds.

To accompany the poem, I chose Edmund Dulac’s Birth of the Pearl; a vision of purity, mystery, and inner radiance. May the words and the image together remind us of the unbroken core within, the light that cannot be taken or dimmed.

Here are my thoughts….

It does not shout,
nor beg for eyes to turn.
It breathes in silence,
a steady flame that burns.

The world may twist,
with silver words and fleeting gold,
yet truth walks barefoot,
its posture calm, its spirit bold.

Integrity is not the easy way -
it bends no corners,
it does not sway.
It is the hand that holds
when others let go,
the seed that grows roots
deep beneath the snow.

It cannot be borrowed,
cannot be sold;
it is the compass
through stories untold.

And when the night
is darkest, unkind,
integrity whispers:
“be whole, be aligned.”

Poem by Marie-Sophie

Art by Edmund Dulac, Birth of The Pearl via Pinterest

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