The stars watch from far above

mother never said good bye

she told me long ago

I’d be all right alone

it may not feel that way

she said but you’ll be fine

I walk in the early hours

when I reach the top

of the hill I look back

the house looks quiet and dark

in today’s drizzle it looks

like its crying

In the dawn rain I enter the woods

alive with early spring flora

a patch work of white, yellow and violet

spreads out before me

stilling me for a moment

to take this muted beauty in

Nature’s canvas at this moment

brings images of the afterlife

I want to imagine that once we’ve

crossed over we enter beauty

and the quiet we are denied here

that our souls are given a chance to heal

These woods have been here

longer than I’ve been alive

their root systems intertwined

and a part of all I see

their tender green young leaves

unfolding and offering shelter from the rain

In this sacred place of beauty

and silence I’m at home

I’m fine and free from my sadness

I walk in hushed steps

among the beauty of nature

and it’s healing embrace