Belonging

Up above

the loose lilac light

slips through the silver-stretched clouds

slumbering across the day’s dimming sky.

And here

down below

I walk these familiar country roads

nestled between storm-swept woodlands

and resolute mountains adorned

in darkening amber hues.

Somewhere

a fire is burning.

I stop mid-stride and begin gathering

the elemental scent of tucked-in coziness

with starved rapacious speed.

Each inhale widens and deepens

arms reaching out and scooping in

bringing the wood-spiced air

closer and closer

in and down

in and down

until the edges of my body begin to blur

separation recedes

division dissolves

and a kind of contained spaciousness

sets in.

No longer weighed down

by the cumbersome content

of experiences or pulled back

by fear’s firm grip.

All that feels less stuck

less tangled and free to float.

I remain where I am

standing but not still.

A boundless buoyant ease

rocking me from within and without.

This feels familiar...

… like this is how it felt

before I took shape

and the motion of life began.

As if I’m being reminded

of a once known but forgotten truth -

Not alone and apart from

but held and received

as a part of.

- Lauren Taub Cohen