Down the dusty grey gravel road
Violet jacaranda trees blossoming
Under the clear blue skies

This might not be a poem: more so a realization at most. The complaints I have throughout the day are anything but morose. Walk an hour in another man's shoes, and suddenly life has so much more I could lose. Where could I be in that first step?

I could be standing in the flip flops of a beautiful friend , taking care of four children as a new widow.

I could be in sneakers as the man  selling newspapers in the desert heat day after day.

I could be in a different shoe every day, as a comedian loved by all, who could make everyone laugh, but himself.

I could be in heels in a doctors office, facing the reality of only a few months left.

But I'm not. My shoes are worn, but my heart is not. My days might be long, but my bed is warm. The jobs I work help keep our bills paid and our food plentiful.

I was going to complain today: but when I realized how beautiful today was, I had nothing to say.

Where could you be, in that first step?

Beneath the starlight
        I stand in an open field.
Wind diving through the  raven strands of my hair
        As the moon shines upon my face.
The night is, so full of life,
         I look up at the stars
And down  to the path illuminated before me.
         I smile
         and run.
Sprinting through the field,
         I am dancing,
               Like a child.
Free in the light of the nighttime sun
I let out a burst of laughter.  
I feel as though I am flying,
    No.
                    I am dancing.  

I have left the field. Now I'm sprinting through the forest among the trees.
This feeling. Dancing with the night.
The open field. The stars. The moon. The trees.
I begin to slow my pace and find my way back to my open plain.
Where I collapse and gaze up at the stars with the purest happiness I've ever felt.
It's indescribable.
                    It's magic.

for Cally*

Stay. With me
I won't let you go
I can't, I refuse.
After all you've done,
let me help you.
Please.

Stay. With us.
We won't let you fall
We'll catch you
and hold you close
until the tears dry.

Stay, do it
for you, for me
for whatever reason you choose
but do it
I need you,
you need this.

Stay.
It'll all work out.
I promise
with all my heart
to take care of you
I took my eye off the ball
but no more I swear.

Stay.
Be here, with us
your friends
you may not love yourself
but you are loved
more than you know.

Stay.