Stepping Stones of Light

by Emma Freeman

Maybe, somehow

I’m writing myself home

as I move my pen from left to right

left to right

back and forth 

filling page after page after page

Maybe, somehow 

I’m digging, uncovering, touching

clearing, cleansing, healing

inching closer to the essence of myself

of this life

with each letter, each word, each sentence

strung together creating life lines

that help me breathe more deeply 

and see more clearly

Maybe, somehow 

each word I drop down onto the ground of the page

becomes a stepping stone of light

glowing and illuminating the darkness,

just enough to take one more step

one more step closer to home

Or maybe, somehow

all of this is actually home

every step, every word, every poem

every laugh, every tear, every scream

every I don’t know and I wonder if and should I…

Maybe it’s all the home I live in

and maybe all of this hoping I am going somewhere

is missing the fact that I am somewhere

right now

and it’s rich and wild and fertile and beautiful

It’s a steady home that follows me everywhere I go

It nourishes and takes care of me

And as I walk through it or run through it

maybe all of those footsteps of light 

illuminate the rooms and the shadowy hallways

giving off an endless tender warmth

from the inside out…