Days are growing shorter Light glows with golden warmth Trees have begun to prepare Erupting ruby, garnet, citrine and amethyst No longer content to wear their mundane shades of green
Shadows dance upon my kitchen window The sun arcing shallower in the sky Tree limbs perform a pas de deux with the breeze For the enjoyment of an audience of one Summer's heat attempts to overstay its welcome Despite knowing it's invitation is expired
Roadside signs appear Announcing the arrival of apple season Orbs of every color and sweetness wait Dreaming of pie, tart, sauce, and cider
Clouds nestle sleepily in the mountain canyons each morning Melting away like spun sugar before noon Naked, Mt. Spokane stands watch over her river Awaiting the return of her crown of winter snows
The calendar changes With it the season Warm sun now Joined by coolest breeze Night comes earlier Mornings arrive later Trees put on a pageant Autumn has arrived
Sometimes A woman is an island Steadfast amid the violence Of salt water and storm cloud Eyes ever focused Where the sky caresses the sea Kissed all over by the ebb and flow of waves Dancing with moontides Volcanic at times Worn and weathered and wiser As beautiful at sunrise as sunset As much a force as nature herself
I bought myself roses today Colored for this transitional season The meridian between winter and spring Watched the red robins play in quiet branches Coated in the soft white of early spring snow Sat at my window sipping steaming coffee Tapping into a calm that was new to me Reveling in the luxury of peaceful stillness And let myself smile
The leaves change here Oranges and reds popping out Amongst stubborn green The wind shifts Autumn comes to call The world leans in here Demands life to slow down The quiet season is coming The world makes ready its winter bed Telling you to pull out your blankets Candles and hearthfires Demanding preparations for long nights Wood smoke and hot chocolates And much needed rest
At the edge of the longest day I gathered drops of sunlight into a bottle Secured it with cord and hung it at my throat Warmth and light illuminated my path Freeing me to see that I did not only hold the light I was the light and the light was me As I journeyed through the crossroads I shed the darkness I had allowed to consume me Abandoned it like a wool cloak on Midsummer day Moved forward ensconced in my own powerful light Willing into truth I'd never be dimmed again
I exited the crossroads The weight of unworthiness falling away behind me I salted the path as I walked Erecting a barrier against old demons who might follow I reminded myself that joy cannot grow in poisoned soil I vowed to never return to this infertile place Gnarled roots and sharp thorns grabbed at me Tried to hold me in that familiar barren land I would no longer be held My light became a glowing blade of will And I rended myself free of the patterns of my past Leaving them as sacrifices at the edge of this intersection Of my old life and new
I followed the road's gentle path through new lands When I came to a willow by a stream Raw, ravaged and weary I sat beneath its shaded canopy and allowed myself to rest I wrapped myself in the cool, green safety beneath its branches I put down my burdens I rinsed my wounds Lulled into meditation by the whispering water I allowed myself to feel peace in place of vigilance I listened to the birds above me The crickets around me I allowed myself to be present I allowed myself to feel The dappled light on my skin The kisses of the sweet breeze on my cheeks The cool, damp grass beneath me The steady, gentle beat of my heart The slow rhythm of my breathing
In that tranquil place Of healing Of new beginning Of rebalancing In that moment where I was Obligated to no one by myself In that space where I remembered how simple joy can be I cupped the bottle of sunlight to my chest And knew I'd never fear the shadows again
