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
Spring has arrived Birds sing sweetly In quickening branches bursting with blooms My winter soul peers out of bleary eyes Before I pull the covers over my head
I want to revisit the joy of cartwheels in summer grass Serenaded by the wing beats of bees and the chorus of hummingbirds and sparrows I want to drowse amongst dandelions while playing Warshak games with passing clouds in azure skies I want to hide beneath curtains of willow branches Making friends of the trees with whispered secrets
I want to run time backward To when summer days were never ending And daydreams frolicked in the warmth of long lazy unburdened afternoons I want to sit suspended in the amber of youthful memory Its glowing lens casting every scene in warm nostalgic hues Golden hour light cast upon fading Kodachrome images That compose dust mote-filled summer slideshows of my heart
The world quiets beneath a blanket of white Sounds are muffled Time slows There is no hurry here The landscape sleeps Stillness, like a spell Descends upon all things
My mind wanders about in this peace Leaving no footprints in the snow I am freed of my burdens Allowed to drift like a shade Below the frosted boughs Delighting in the joy of winter’s slumber
I am a spring maiden at heart Celebrating life’s sunshine and rainbows A believer in growth and renewal Optimistic and hopeful
I also hold a dread queen in my soul Content to sit quietly in darkness Observant and calculated Unafraid of the shadows Happy to don my crown Glimmering with pomegranate seeds The color of blood To remind the foolish I am not the one
Words Wishes and Wisdom 