Let us walk down the street
read the shop signs and peek in the windows
lean into our intuition
of where we can nourish our minds and bodies.
We don’t need to make a plan
ahead of time.
We can allow our bodies to connect to nature;
the changing directions of the wind,
the building heat from the sun’s rays
as she ascends high into the sky
beyond the mountain peaks,
the winding trails through trees, along streams,
connecting to wonder.
Let us step into ourselves, into the world,
and find out where we’re going
when we get there.
Category: Free Verse
a movie of us
After all this time
you returned to my subconscious
drawing the curtains behind my closed eyes
to screen a movie
a movie of us
where we’re back there,
where we knew each other,
but also now, where we don’t.
How did you manage to combine
and intertwine them?
I could touch your skin
I could hear your voice.
You were there, with me,
real.
You were so real
that when the curtains spread
and my eyes opened
I looked around the room for you
hoping to find you
wanting what I realized was a dream
to be reality.
As hours pass today
the touch of your skin
the sound of your voice
and the energy between us
dissipates
until now
where I can hardly remember.
I cannot comprehend how or why
you came to me
but I thank you
and I hope to see you again soon.
thank you for being you
When I become stuck in comparison
between me and her
or me and them
or me and that
I remember this summer
when my uncle hugged me and whispered,
“thank you for being you”
and I remind myself
what a gift I am, just as I am,
and my neck becomes a little taller
my chest proud
and I say to myself,
“thank YOU for being YOU.”
first drafts need revisions
Some stories I write
I write to release them from my mind
get them down on paper
so I can forget about them.
First drafts rarely become final drafts
without revisions.
Writing out the first draft
of painful, heavy stories
feels easy,
feels liberating.
Revisiting them
is triggering
is painful
but necessary
to produce a final draft.
Prepare.
Execute.
Soothe.
all in one day
To experience
solitude
movement
service
purpose
expression
science
art
practicality
imagination
connection
vulnerability
love
belonging
authenticity
all in one day
is magic.
clouds gifting chances
Clouds drape over each other
across the sky above,
a soft barrier between the sun and the earth.
Gifting the sun a chance
to be alone with herself
in private
permission to take a restful day.
Her rays permeate the clouds still
without needing to show her full self.
Gifting the earth a chance
to reacquaint with the coolness of coming fall,
embracing the act of letting go
and slowing down, slowly.
Gifting the earth and her inhabitants
opportunities to re-calibrate with the energy shift
and look ahead to changes still awaiting.
Breathe deep, slow breaths
of the cool, soft air
beneath the gray and fluffy blanket
draped over and around us.
I trust my body and mind
I trust
that right now
my body and mind need rest.
I trust
that my body and mind
are recuperating, in alignment with their needs.
I trust
that feeling good, feeling happy,
tells me my body and mind
are receiving what they need
and that it’s OK for me to feel good right now.
I trust
that I do not need to stay in the misery
to justify or exemplify
the pain residing still in my body
for it may never leave.
I trust
that I am right where I need to be.
I trust
that my body and mind will tell me
in their own way
when they are ready, again.
feel the energy required
Standing in a river
waist-deep
feel the energy required
in your deepest muscles
to fight against the current
to stay still
where you are.
The river, the water, the current,
your life,
wants to sweep you away
in flow
but you resist.
Feel the energy required
to resist the flow of life.
You want to stay, here, or there,
but wouldn’t it be easier
to relax your muscles
lift your feet from the riverbed
and submit to the current?
Parts of the forest
can be seen and appreciated only
from the river’s view.
Relinquish control
release the past
and let the water carry you.
good for now
I don’t know what’s next
or when
all I know
is that where I am
is good for now.
small steps in the dark
For the part of my brain
that thrives on planning
having no concrete plan
leaves me wondering what to do
like putting one foot in front of the other
in a pitch black room
I have never been in before
earnestly reaching out for anything
any clue of place or floorplan
taking the wrong step
feels scarier
than taking no step at all.
Eventually
my eyes will adjust to the darkness
if only slightly.
I need to keep moving
somehow.
Small, cautious steps
are better than none –
I whisper to myself
over and over.
Rewiring my brain
thought by thought
step by step.
Dawning Words 