Sitting outside on this frigid autumn morning,
Everything slowly waking up around me.
Few birds sing,
My mind only consumed with the river’s voice,
Loud, but calming.
The water rushing through river allowing me to think clearly,
Drowning out the business of everyday life.
A sense of relief I didn’t know I needed.

I take everything in,
Noticing everywhere around me,
The ground is being hugged by the impersonator of snow.
Being hugged by a relative that they don’t know,
they say they’ve known you since you were born,  
The crystals cover everything on the ground,
Not the trees and rocks,
They go unharmed.
The impersonator likes to play games,
Freeze,
The grass hunted in the game of freeze tag
Running with the wind but they caught them.
Frozen in time,
encasing them,
Trapping them in their spot.
The morning continues,
the grass waits patiently,
Waiting for their teammate to thaw them,

I want to be tagged,
To be still,    
Why is it that everyone wants to be in the current of the river?
Running from one thing to another,
constantly flowing until the end of time.
Is that what success means?
To be busy,
To have no time for anyone or even yourself,

Stop,
Freeze,
Breathe,
You’ve been tagged,
Let the river take your worries with them while you stand still
Don’t let the current drift you away.

Observe,
Who needs to be tagged?
Return the favor,
Come back for me,
I’ll be in the current.