I am hurtling through tight pressed air,
524 miles per hour, 33,000 feet;
all recycled oxygen and stiff limbs,
with miles below and miles above.
These are miles that think;
miles that raise questions
leave the answers floating
like clouds; peaceful, turbulent.
I know the boy next to me,
deep thoughts muddled and made murky
in the midst of the changes;  
and I hear the kid behind me,
screams of laughter
or maybe terror, I can’t tell which;
and I see the girl across the aisle,
flinching with every turbulent cloud;
and I wonder if we are all in the same boat,
or plane, if you will.
My clouds are much the same,
murky and turbulent
thinking about where I have been
where I am going,
returning only to leave again,
this time unfamiliar, unwanted, not understood.
But I am now winged with new friendships
ready to test time,
and a strong prayer for faithfulness
to outlast all.
I am not ready for what lies ahead,
but I have come to find
that I often never am,
and never will be.
I am one for whom
peace is not easily found,
thus instead I am practicing patience;
and I have begun to say shalom.

Like the plates of the earth
the world beneath my feet is solid and withstanding.
seemingly resolute,
it has held together with manageable
cracks and tears;
a steady foundation.

Like the plates of the earth,
my world begins to shift;
the cracks and tears grow suddenly
without warning I am thrown
into a tumult of confusion and discord.
Shifting becomes breaking;
slowly, piece by piece,
my plates split apart,
creating not a giant hole,
but a small and slivered crevice that
appears to swallow all of my breaking pieces.

Discomfort
unease
fully aware of each falling part
this turbulence continues;
days go by and more pieces
are breaking
and falling
and disappearing
before I can catch them
and hold them close
until my ground quits shaking.

For I have hit an earthquake
and I close my eyes
and grasp the few roots
left in this mess
and wait.

Now the shift is over
while the earth has finished its quaking,
my world is still trembling in recovery.
The balance has yet to be regained;
I am still assessing the damage,
waiting for the sun to shine again
to show me what is left to mend.

The bridge from discomfort to normalcy
quivers with every step,
but I find solace
on the rising sun’s horizon.
A small voice whispers,
“it is good.”

Today it is March
what a beautiful march it will be.