It came in the peak of summer that most optimistic time, when sunshine equates with health and bodies glow with exertion fit and in their prime – it came
with all the fury of a winter blast harsh and cold and unyielding – wrestling me from my complacency annihilating vibrancy, self-definition de-leafed, rendering me raw, exposed.
I clung to the darkness, blanketed against the harshness of light, the impossibility of sound, or scent – was de-shelled, ungrounded, ravaged by volatile nerves and misfiring impulses
praying for the certainty of death… but it is spring that follows winter and in time, restlessness set in – the dogged whine of hope willing my mind to stretch, my body to try
spirit, tired of withdrawal, pushed against the wall of dysfunction, bolstered by a shifting acceptance found roots in an unspoken faith and I felt possibility, like a tiny sprout
reaching for the sunshine, ventured out of my cocoon – still alive! Redefining purpose – still precarious, highly vulnerable but optimistic for the return of summer.
(Rebirthing first appeared on One Woman’s Quest II March, 2018. Image my own)
It wasn’t the knowledge of stability – chaos had the upper hand back then. It wasn’t even that love was expressed – unconditional an unheard of concept
It was an unspoken presence the reassurance of rocks the irrepressible allure of a freshwater stream
How a child’s heart found encouragement in the whispering wind solace in the arbored shelter
Naturally the din of home life overpowered this self-assured passage, disrupted kinship and shattered childish faith
But all that is behind now and when I clear cluttering thoughts, disperse static emotions, quiet the heart
The rhythms are still there – presence offering sustenance…
(Poem first appeared here, January, 2021. Image my own)