Tricia Schwaba Poetry

Breathing Deep Through & Through

I speak to you
You with hate in your hearts
Do you remember kindness?
Or were you this way from the start?

Your naiveté is
Thick and dense
Hard to cut through
Even with the best offense

I struggle with my words
For fear of acting like you
I assuage my frustration
Breathing deep through and through

So what do I do?
How do I stand?
When our collective fate
Seems to lie in your hands?

The answer is clear
It’s- from within- lit
It directs me
”Love one another
And take no shit.”

Tricia Schwaba 12/2026

Earth Below Heaven Above

Earth below, heaven above

Show me the certain path to love

Show me the beauty deep inside

Where balanced and harmonious I can reside

Show me the way to the energy pure

Instead of passage to the ways things were.

Love restores my mind when weak

It leads me to this path I seek

It flags me down in times of doubt

Bringing a blessed turnabout

It seeks out peace when my mind’s a mess

Or I am feeling I’m somehow less.

Earth below, heaven above

Your grace it flies on the wings of doves

Brushing my soul, light strokes of faith

Gently dispelling harsh words of hate

Earth below, heaven above

I stand grateful for this path of love.                          

Tricia Schwaba, 2019

Art Source: Saatchi Art

On This Planet

I fear for the angels amongst us
Myself included
It would appear the demons have won
Gobbling up the land
Stealing many of the riches

Humanity will no longer
In its current form
Survive
It cannot

The Earth in her wisdom
In her strength
In her beauty will always win

The suffering
The breakdown
The death that this propagated evil leaves in its wake
Is painful to witness for those of us who know

Love and compassion
And caring for each other
IS THE ONLY WAY
To stay afloat
On their tumultuous sea of greed

There are no riches that can be hoarded
Without the consequences of
Breakdown and destruction

I take these fleeting moments I have left
Here on my version of this Earth
And I look back
Now understanding that we all had choices
For it to be a heaven or a hell

The many small-minded, ego-driven, sad little men
Who think they are winners have chosen hell
They’ve done nothing but
Destruct, ruin, ravage
Every last thing that holds beauty

So little they can comprehend
Their stupidity leading the way

They haven’t won at all
They have lost

The power of the Universe wins
The Earth is goodness and compassion
And only the good and compassion lives on

The angels thrive and flourish
Dancing in the harmonious flow of the Cosmos
While the demons consume each other
Ultimately turning to dust

Thank the Goddesses and the Gods alike.

Tricia Schwaba August 2, 2026

All At Once

I am a woman of the Earth

a mother deep in the core

Solid

Nourished by minerals

that push me forth

I grow like an Aspen

the many facets of my self

shimmering in the sun

awaiting acknowledgement

as I stretch towards individuation

I am a man in the sky

a father dancing in the heavens

keeping angels awestruck

I hover seeking soft earth

to plunge my root deep

harmonize strength and vulnerability

I am both

I am neither

All at once

Tricia Schwaba 2026

Cold

It wasn’t a harsh wind like one from a Northwoods winter night

But a fear-laden, icy attempt to freeze her own discomfort

She plays hide-and-seek with her bitchiness finding it in those

Convenient times when faced with reality of her past actions

I see her; she cowers at the thought of attempted healing

I know her; she cowers at the thought of contrition

I’ve been there; that land of self pity

It is rocky, desolate— no good can take seed and grow

Feigning comfort, she keeps herself wrapped

In a fluffy blanket of deception inviting in her delusions

And only those that will validate them

With her self-loathing she deceives

Not others as is her intention

Only herself

She is me, before I soaked in the warmth of my flawed life

That now brims with love

Tricia Schwaba, April 2026

Speak To Me

Speak to me of love
Speak to me of truth
Speak to me of the heaviness that pounds you
Speak to me of the times you’ve been lifted above the human experience
Speak to me of the days you thought you might die
Speak to me of the healing power of nature
Speak to me of the stars that shimmer in the night sky
Speak to me of those who attempted to dim your light
Speak to me of friendships that sustained you
Speak to me of the days you felt you were drowning
Speak to me of your gratitude
Speak to me of the times you’ve been saved
Speak your truth
Speak your love
Speak to me

Tricia Schwaba, April 13, 2026

Movement

Moving through life

Moving through greed


Movement restricted

Movement freed


Let’s not pretend 

We don’t know the deal


We’re gluttons for stuff

Neglecting what’s real.


Moving through life

Your unique pace

Calling upon source

Eternal grace


Point your body

Towards a new plan


One less pent up

Tall you stand


Move with meaning

To the light of understanding


An easy pace

One less demanding


Making better choices

New motivation


Stimulate and inspire

Divine creation.

Tricia Schwaba, 2025
art source: Anon

ENOUGH

We’re not one of yours, we are not who you are

Ones seeking riches, leaving trash in your wake

You get what you want, you toss it aside

Then claim that the poor take and take

I would argue it is you with your investments & gold

That take and take but remain

In the mindset of lack, in the slime of excess

Laying on the rebellious the whole of the blame

The time is now, we have come to the bend

When your money and excess breaks down

Nature is angry at those at the helm

She holds no mercy for the rich side of town.


Today is the day, now is the time

We say ENOUGH! and gracefully rise

We do no harm but take no shit

Our strength - open hearts and minds

Tricia Schwaba, 9/2025

Heavens Reprieve

I unwrap the paper
Recycle the waste
I read the words
That proclaim our fate
”You all leave
You all doubt
You all hold in
Incredible amounts
Release & breathe
Feel the tugs on your sleeve
Trust the moment
Allow it to be
Sing your own praises
Through windblown trees”
She beckons me forth
To heavens reprieve

Tricia Schwaba, from the archives

Movement

Moving through life

Moving through greed

Movement restricted

Movement freed

Let’s not pretend 

We don’t know the deal

We’re gluttons for stuff

Neglecting what’s real.

Moving through life

Your unique pace

Calling upon source

Eternal grace

Point your body

Towards a new plan

One less pent up

At last you stand

Move with meaning

Be light, understanding

An easy pace

One less demanding

Making better choices

New motivation

Stimulate and inspire

Divine creation.

Tricia Schwaba, from the archives

May You Continue

My wish for you is to claim witness to your own beauty
To continue to see yourself well beyond the filter of humanity
To nourish the subtle energy that flows through you
That sustains you
That transports you
That loves you
That is you

My wish is that you continue to offer yourself unfettered love
That you honor your practices of self care
The reverent practices of self sustenance
The practices that are kind allowing you to splash that kindness outward

My wish for you is that you take your long spine out into your world
That you continue to stand proudly root to crown in your gracefully aging body
To stand tall releasing the petulant kinks that inhibit pranic flow
That you ground like the pines deeply and securely
That you never topple despite the threatening storm
Being a balanced inspiration for she who is untethered

My wish for you is that you continue to honor your unique power
Gently bestowing it outward
Pouring it into the inevitable pockets of weakness you will open
And to continue to be the steady
Unwavering
Beauty-drenched soul you are

These are my wishes for you today
And for the rest of your days
 

Tricia Schwaba 8 28 2024
honoring the strong, northwoods women of the mat

Cold

It wasn’t a cool breeze like that on an evening in the Northwoods

But a fear- laden, icy attempt to freeze her own discomfort

She plays hide-and-seek with her bitchiness finding it in those

Convenient times when faced with reality of her past actions

I see her— she cowers at the thought of attempted healing

I know her— she shrinks at the thought of contrition

I’ve been there— that land of self pity

It is rocky, cold

No good can take seed and grow

Feigning comfort, she keeps herself wrapped

In a fluffy blanket of deception harboring her delusions

And only those that validate them

With her self-loathing she deceives

Not others as is her intention

Only herself

She is me before I soaked in the warmth of my flawed life

That now brims with love

Tricia Schwaba