I want to whisper,
In your heart, so perfectly,
Beating within you.

T**
ransverse from within to the
without,
depart my innards, exit the body,
intent upon becoming my shadow's shadow,
observing
the hole
the holy
the whole
of our lives
and the soup
of ofs and ifs
distances and nearness,
the straightforward and discombobulating,
the commas, the semicolons
and the peroxide periods that
separate, puncture, divide
and combined together
make me, you, the us
combination
and I find my teary eyes
on top of the tiniest of  smiles
as my entirety is suffused
with gratitude, welcoming, fresh
rebirth of a new day grant to the
we,
of the of & if
of us
connected by plasma,
telephone undersea cables
and the best of our
human capacity of
capabilities

The river carved the rocks with time,
Yet swore it left no trace behind.
The fire kissed the wood and air,
Then claimed it never once was there.

The storm may pass, the echoes thin,
Yet something lingers deep within.
Not seen, not named, but not erased—
Some marks were never meant to fade.

The wolf runs wild within my chest,
Its footsteps heavy, never rest.
It leaps through valleys of my doubt,
A creature I cannot chase out.
Yet still I breathe, I hunt the night,
For even shadows fade with light.

But alongside, in quiet grace,
The bear walks steady, knows its place.
It watches with a patient eye,
A strength that’s silent, never shy.
In moments dark, when all feels lost,
The bear reminds me of the cost:
That peace, not violence, shows the way,
And wisdom knows when to delay.

The wolf may chase, the bear may roam,
But in their dance, I find my home.