search – One Woman's Quest

Search (tanka)

Dare I look for self
in cloud formations, as if
true essence dwells there?
Naturally, I search outward
afraid to find nothing within.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

Travelled East
in search of self

Half-family extended
unexpected warmth

Was my identity here
with stranger-brothers?

I contemplated pausing
surrendering to other

But that was sleep-walking

The distance still remains

Journey has no end
till soul has purpose

and wisdom relieves
the wounded child.

(Still Travelling first appeared here July 2020. Edited for this version. Image my own)

The heart resides in fragmented nests,
each beat a rhythm of its own desire;

we search for wholeness between breaths,
haunted by a longing – a secret fire –

a quest for knowledge to lift us higher.

(Image my own)