Portal Vision

I went through the portal

And now everything is different

Or maybe nothing has changed at all.

*

I see the vision

in the corner of my mind

And I can only approach it

if I treat it like a wild deer —

Don’t look straight at it,

Don’t move too fast,

Pretend to browse for food,

Go forward slowly, sideways,

Not with my attacking feet or teeth

but leading with my vulnerable side. 

It isn’t a wild deer —

It won’t bolt.

But there’s something about the focus

That won’t hold if I look straight at it.

It wants to come around me softly

And warm me from behind like sunshine —

Strong heat on the back of my ear, my shoulder

Melting my resistance.

It wants to glow behind me

And light up my path ahead,

Make a long shadow of me

to send before me like a scout.

It wants me to have this light

But always know

It doesn’t come from me.

©Wendy Mulhern

February 28, 2013