Down on my luck My body is empty A shell of only emotion And thought Shaking like a scared dog- The most damning evidence comes when I stand Do my legs fold under me? Or does the earth no longer find me relevant No longer fruitful No longer worthy to walk on her face Cool air Gives my inhale something to talk about As I fall back to the dew (Immovable) "Earth, if you have (ever) loved me; cradle (now) My broken body in your arms." "Just a drop of water fallen from a leaf Could quench my thirst" To ashes I must return I am dust and gravel Sift me between your fingers Know me Be my disciple Speaking my thoughts to all who will listen And one (night) When your heart skips You will know it is time The ache on the wind No longer possible to ignore Go out to the darkest corner of the forest And lie among the twigs and leaves I am there with you as you become radiance I am there whistling your favorite song Giving you peace Giving you (spring and her color) Deer live their lives around us Acting as sentinels of (morning) Earthworms cursed with blindness Burrow beneath us Thistle Wildflower Hungry little fingers growing in color As the horizon tips us Into the glow of our star (Morning) Quietly now, darling You (are) a stranger in this life But you will haunt all you have touched The smell of your skin Is upon your letters And your dresses still) hold your beauty Your shoes still worn through You will not be forgotten So rest now I wipe your parched lips with a cloth Dipped in the cold waters of the river I smooth the wrinkles in your shirt And fold your fingers above your chest Placing between your warm palms A smooth shell I plucked from the sea (Long ago) When you were but a child And I was (summer)