Maddie

Maddie Jun 2019

I’m the person I know best, but there’s still so much I don’t know. How strange to be a stranger even to yourself.

Maddie Jun 2019

The song of the cicadas.
The stories in the sand.
The floating of the butterflies.
Leaves shaking like hands.

The whispers in the wind.
The dancing of the ants.
The stillness of the mountains.
The shivers through the plants.

The patience of the sunshine.
The blanket of the shade.
The potential in the skyline.
An embrace from this world she made.

Breath settles on my skin, so soft.
This moment feels like a smile.
I hear a voice in the cicadas,
"Sit and rest for awhile."

Watch the sun step slowly.
Listen to the speech of the wind.
The plants are performing for you, my dear.
The shade is inviting you in.

The ants will teach you to free-style.
The butterflies, how to have fun.
The sky will promise protection,
While the sand just waits to become.

Nature, it travels alongside you.
She begs you to act like a friend.
If you weave your stories together,
She'll entertain you until the end.

So, listen to the song of the cicadas.
Write your stories in sand.
Nature will rest there beside you,
In this world she created by hand.

Maddie Jun 2019

Perspective

All the world is tucked in under the same sky, but we all have our own private view of the stars.

Maddie Jun 2019

The paradoxes in my prayers

God is a ghost, but god is alive,
That’s what they want us to think.
Really, we’re just humans, trying to be divine,
Reaching for something we’ll never find.

God is a ghost, but god is alive
…
Is he alive?
…
Or is it a lie?

Maddie Jun 2019

Not much makes sense anymore

You get so alone at times that it just makes sense.

Maddie Jun 2019

Sightseeing

I want you to feel like a mountain, like you’ve been molded for millions of years,
Faulting and bending and building to become as you appear:
Strong and towering and brave, always rising toward the sun,
Certain of your movements, determined to become someone.

I want you to feel like a river, overflowing with life and with love,
Rushing and curving and spilling to cover us all with your flood -
Nomadic and adventurous and free-spirited, never ceasing to explore the world,
The river of life and of love flows from the heart of a girl.

I want you to feel like a forest, growing up from your roots and your seeds,
Spreading and falling and flourishing, a life-force that helps us to breathe,
Layered and vibrant and plentiful, rising up when you’re given a chance,
Your branches extend out toward others, and you stand firm in your wind-woven dance.

I want you to feel like a wonder, I want you to feel like a sight,
Embedded in all that I see and experience, joining me on this journey through life,
You’re worthy and natural and life-giving, astonishing all who meet you,
You’re as beautiful as the world out there, and I’m stopping to enjoy the view.

For Casey

Maddie Jun 2019

Lift me up from beneath the stars

Lift me up from beneath the stars, and I’ll help you reach the moon.
That’s where dreams go to dance; where they’ll act like they’re just out of reach.

But they’re not.

They may live in the constellations, but they were meant to travel with you.
You just have to show them you care.

You have to chase them.
Embrace them.
Fall in love with them.
Then, when your dream falls in love with you, it will follow you home.

Don’t settle for anything less than something that was born in the sky.