Refuge

by Emma Freeman

Today I am taking refuge in stitches

single, slow, one-at-a-time stitches

their soothing rhythm anchoring me

Today I am taking refuge in cloth

soft fibers that invite my fingertips to wander

and find comfort in their structures and hidden stories

Today I am taking refuge in poetry

in soul words strung together creating life lines

that somehow reach a place inside me 

I didn’t know desperately needed touch

Today I am taking refuge in play

in silly stories and goofy faces

easy laughter and joy that spreads light 

through my entire being

Today I am taking refuge in solitude

and the ways that sacred space 

continues to unfurl things 

like a long scroll I am slowly trying to decipher

Today I am taking refuge in silence

and all of the illuminated doorways that reveal themselves

to me when I dare to enter that house

Today I am taking refuge in tears

in the seemingly bottomless ocean 

that swirls and surges through my body

cleansing and purifying

releasing and shedding

carving out deeper depths than I knew were possible

Today I am taking refuge in not knowing 

what is next 

or how 

or when 

or with who 

or where

or why

Today I am choosing to surrender and let go

of controlling and predicting

of analyzing and worrying

and am just going to float in the river of being

for a little while…