Poetry for Your Soul

Let's forget the world for a while

fall back and back

into the hush and holy

of now

are you listening? This breath

invites you

to write the first word

of your new story

your new story begins with this:

You matter

you are needed—empty

and naked

willing to say yes

and yes and yes

Do you see

the sun shines, day after day

whether you have faith

or not

the sparrows continue

to sing their song

even when you forget to sing

yours

stop asking: Am I good enough?

Ask only

Am I showing up

with love?

Life is not a straight line

it's a downpour of gifts, please—

hold out your hand

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.

What if the leaves,

stirred to singing

by the breeze,

sing with even more joy

when they notice

you are listening?

What if the small white flower

quivers with delight

when you notice

her tiny

yet honorable

contribution

to the beauty

of this world?

And what if

that brief moment

is all she needs

to know that her life

is worth living,

all her efforts

not in vain?

What if the trees

feel the depth

of your pain,

and are quietly

reaching toward you,

offering solace 
with everything they have to give

What if the whales

diving into the deep blue

can feel your love

for them,

even across all that

open ocean?

What if the water,

weary from

her endless journey,

is replenished by

your gratitude,

which gives her

the strength

to keep going?

What if the Earth

herself

longs to feel

the caress

of your naked feet

on her warm, brown skin?

And what if

the granite mountain,

no matter how remote

and immovable

he may seem,

feels a quiet shiver of joy

when you are touched

by his majestic beauty?

What if…