Poem: I remember a time

In these days of ever more shrill bad news

and dire predictions

and restrictions

and divisions

that are doing their very best

trying to send me into a tailspin

of despair

I take a deep breath

and I remember a time

I remember a time when

I was with my tribe,

singing and dancing around a fire,

and I remember being the fire

burning merrily

throwing sparks

to commune with the stars

I remember a time

of playing in the ocean

with the dolphins

and seahorses

and squid

and I remember being the ocean

vast and full of life

mighty waves

and still waters

all caressing the Earth

I remember a time

of being high on a rock

and taking to the skies

soaring

borne by powerful wings

and I remember being the wind

playfully whirling autumn leaves

high into the air

and playing with sails of ships

I remember a time

of living in the loam of our earth

burrowing

of being a part of a hive

creating new structures

and I remember being the loam

rich

fertile

teeming with life

nourishing all the creatures

of Earth

I remember a time

of running over the steppes

muscles bunching

feeling the exhilaration of speed

and I remember being rock

being still

patient

eternal

and deeply connected to

all the other bones of Earth

I remember a time

of burrowing my roots deep

and reaching up to the heavens

seasons unfolding around me

my life pulsing deep within me

for centuries

guarding the land

with my tribe

And I breathe peace

and belonging

and Life flowing through me

And I know

deep in my being

that the Universe is unfolding

like a beautiful flower

sparkling with dewdrops at dawn

miraculous in its perfection

And I breathe

bursting with love

and rapt with gratitude

for having been invited

to experience it all