Renewal

by Emma Freeman

To begin,

again

returning to a place I have been before

yet somehow I am not the same 

this time around

As I walk along

trying to shed the heavy weight of something

I can't quite name

I watch the daffodils begin to emerge 

from the softening ground

again

I hear the sacred cranes return 

from somewhere unknown to me

again

The creek has found its flow

again

The birch sheds her skin

again

These soothing circles 

remind me that I am connected to much deeper rhythms

an ancient web that is always revealing itself

If I can quiet my incessant inner noise enough 

to listen

If I can clear my eyes enough

to see

If I can heal my heart enough 

to feel

if I can stand still and watch closely enough

and continue to wipe away 

the layers of soot

that seem to so easily cloud my vision

and keep me from seeing

what has been here all along

an invitation

a doorway

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