Woodsy dirt road wet rocks jutting
‘neath my wobly feet slick with slush
heart murmers to keep my chin up
look up
look ahead
trust my journey my bearings my road
but potholes crack from underneath
uncertain footsteps
threatening to sink foundations
swallowing up horizons promised when
the road was laid
seems pointless really to fill them
when I know the ice will come again
been done before
and no one will know I
traveled this path
shove my hands into my thin pockets
fingering dog treats, a lost button
a woodpecker raps and the hollowed tree
feels like me
wind caresses fir branches swooped low
muddied greens sweep a brisk breeze
past my cheeks
what’s the point I wonder
of potholes of sunrises of nothing new
under the sun–when it shows–
the crisp ribbon of air bites my nose
for what’s a dream but a whisper of
cedar the scent a tease and gone
I stand still, motion seems daunting
do I press forward ’round pits in my path
or do I splash triumphantly in them
or do I turn back, forsaking the road
altogether
or am I dispairingly missing something
chipping chickadees greet me with cheer
I distrust
their acrobatics amusing
yet reminders of what I cannot
My eyes grant gavity’s pull
to the hole in my path my soul
the ice crystals cracking the edges
and I notice mirrored clouds moving
forward, graceful, trusting.
Forward. Graceful. Trusting.
Raising my chin I hear buds
in the greens around me,
birthing from the dead,
pressing onward, pink and swelling
the promise of spring.
My fingers loosen and forsake
warmth and
hiding and
I raise my arms
as the firs instruct
close my eyes and bathe in
whatever sliver of sunshine
granted me through the
tangle of salal and alder.
And I give thanks for the potholes
lying in my path
those ugly stumbling things
reminding me that the walk
is always mine to take
and that a slow journey
over and around them
is better than none
and I know the embrace
of rushing waters filling
my spirit
for the road ahead.
really beautiful. i wanted to take a minute to thank you so much for all of your prayers and words of encouragement for me over the past couple of weeks. they have meant so much!! thank you! lora
This is so beautiful. I need these words so much right now. Thank you so much for sharing something so deeply personal in order to bless the many. I just found out we are expecting. I am fighting for trust as we lost two in a row. I am struggling against the temptation to fear. And if… if this one takes, and I pray he or she does, I will face some dark days ahead as is custom for me in early pregnancy. I will be printing this incredible poem out and reading it often. You do not know what a blessing you are.
((hugs)) Rebecca and Lora.And fear not. He is worthy of our trust.Blessings,Keri Mae