We can know

If I emptied myself of words,

which many of us wish to do

what would remain

and align with the redwood forests?

with fog moving swiftly through the

forest air 

ending up gently on the soil

invisible relationship of air to earth

but it has its own music

of the natural atmosphere

and only therein can my words

dissipate, dissolve

into an alignment

with cycles of life

death and rebirth

noticing what the humans are doing 

but keeping all that activity at a distance

so that the mind is more able to 

get clear and find peace

more able to 

find and 

internalize peace

There are thousands or millions or more

of exoplanets like earth

that may support life the way earth does

but are far enough away that 

they seem out of reach. 

They are only out of reach physically

but psychically

we can know. 

we can inhale and exhale 

in the imagination of

harnessing the gifts from earth to 

bring to them

offering with love

to what is below

or beside

or above. 

infusion

 part 1.

My softness is calculated

It is weathered and worn

it takes energy and effort to

uphold

yes

easier to simply fold

fold in on myself 

and allow the hardening process to

take over

Let it drive the vehicle for awhile

Let the gentle, vulnerable parts

rest in the backseat

in the cold, in the heat

part 2.

a vibration is an oscillation

a movement

a frequency is how fast or slow 

the oscillation moves

So, I infuse the vibration

with loving kindness

and raise my own frequency

until many can no longer 

see

me

and I am free.

traces

I will make a list

someday

of all the ways out

of here

but it will 

be in some language that

was never invented

I hoped for the best

but never looked back 

to see if it was the best 

or worst 

that landed me 

where I ended up

I thought in codes

that nobody could 

break into

 I felt all the feelings

with distance from 

me and them

it was like all those things

 that happened

happened to someone else 

no, it could not have

happened to me 

I will make a list

and a plan

a blueprint

and a map

but I will not show them

I will not share them

like incense smoke, all of it

will evaporate

and leave a scent lingering

the only way to trace me

and then I will be

long gone

smoke and flames

 A survivor will 

put weight on their body

like armor

keeping predators and others

away if they can.

A survivor will lose weight

So, you cannot get access

to the softness that 

was violated and betrayed.

A survivor will split from 

themselves

Body goes in one direction

Mind and heart go elsewhere.

A survivor will do

what it takes

to make it through

intact. 

And when they realize they

are not fully intact, that

part of them has slipped away

they might search for it

or just accept that it's lost. 

Survivors have some 

choices to make.

Shut down, open up

swim faster

sink to the bottom.

All are fair reactions

to the fractured self

the wounded self

the one who might

divorce from reality, so

they can come back

with some sanity. 

Some of us 

make it look easy

but that is never the case

we mend what is broken

with tools we forged

from the ashes of the pain

we torched.

warming ourselves by

the fire 

watching flames and 

smoke go up 

higher and higher, finally

back to the place of 

endings and beginnings

winding together

loss and wholeness

Appreciate it

We can build 

stone by stone

a castle of protection

around your heart

but 

will it keep you 

safe from you?

I can crush all 

your enemies

while you sleep, so 

you can dream unbothered

and quietly.

But will it 

set you free?

I can give you sight 

to see any type of motive

hidden by deceptions

but will that make you

wise?

I wish to construct a 

world for you to flourish in

but if you have never 

known differently

will you 

appreciate it?

I can hold your hand

until we begin to mimic 

happiness

but at what cost?

Only when you arrive

at the shores of your own

vulnerability

and your own 

powers, your own

creativity,

only then 

will we part and 

let go

all the way

let go 

without looking back.

until we find each other 

again, one day, one night

with new language, and

refreshed sight

Author's note:

This is written from the perspective of the Universal Goddess who cannot be named.

better

Thousands of years have passed 

and you are still muttering about 

old promises

but

we never seem to get there

so far

and I do not know how many

more centuries or thousands of years 

I can wait. 

Destroy the dams

let the rivers flow, no matter 

if lives and homes are lost

beneath rushing water

fresh water

or salt water when we get

to the ocean side and the 

waves swell up

All of this, I foresaw. 

I have foreseen all of the natural disasters

(as they are called) but I know

they are fierce and wrathful, raging tears 

falling down the face of the earth

like rain onto rocks

some jagged; some smooth, catching the

raindrops in the dry crevices

light gray into dark black

but nothing is bleak 

about this destruction

it must be done

and just as I foresaw it

I will again dream

a new reality from

the tenuous and tenacious one

that has a hold on your psyche 

but not mine

I am blissfully free of distractions

I hover in the flames of fire that consume

I am storms sweeping 

over the dry crackling fields

and all of this will bring relief and peace

although it looks and feels apocalyptic

trust me, it gets better from here. 

Author's note:

This is written from the perspective of the Universal Goddess who cannot be named. 

I whispered it

you never knew my real name

not my true name

but not because I never told you

I gave you hints

I whispered it when 

we fell silent

I asked to be seen by

looking away, pointing at the

clouds

I asked to be heard

by chanting the words

reciting the stories and dreams

until you looked away

not ready to know, not willing

to participate 

in a reality too nuanced

too distant 

from your piece of earth

too full of floods and fertile soil

and breaking curses

I asked to be known

but without that reflection

I sank back into the waves

and let go