Breath

In the end

the things we’re asked to know

are the same things stones know

as they absorb their daily thermal load

and then release it slowly to the night,

a breathing that befits their time —

long and steady and calm

And what we’re asked to know

is what trees know

as they embrace the standing wave of energy,

toroidal cycling

of air and light and water,

breath of the forest, sweet and pure

We’re asked to know

the things our breathing teaches

in the constant ebb and flow

and in the depth it reaches

and the way we’re woven

into one complete design,

breath of our days,

earthbound, divine.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 24, 2014