i imagine my soul
deep, dark and damp,
laying in the most serene
part of the wilderness within me

i walk here -
through the mazes of towering pines
and beds of succulent moss -
each time someone
too bright,
brilliant and bursting
for this earth
is taken away

for each of them
i carry a tiny stone
tossed into the pit,
which never elicits
the sound of pebble
meeting solid ground, instead,
they just float on
forever within me

now i take the walk
again and my brain
isn’t quiet and accepting,
and the stone that i
carry is so large
that my arms almost
can’t reach all the
way round

i stumble
and disturb any innerpeace
i once claimed –
snapping branches,
slipping down slopes,
losing my breath

the most difficult thing
i’ll ever carry is
your tiny, sweet smile,
your soft voice,
your big spirit,
the way you were so
determined to keep
up with your
sisters, and how
they were determined
to never let you down

your stone will remind me
that life is meant
to be conquered,
which you demonstrated
every day of your short
six years on earth

i’ll find stillness
in my inner wilderness,
and i will cry until
the ground around
me bursts with life,
and i will smile
because you are
still finding ways
to teach me –
life is meant for living