Within Each of US

Standing among violent shouting,

Angry vibrations pounding near.

Shuddering as the volume increases.

A roar of hate that can consume.

Inward I listen.

As the noise recedes,

I follow my breath

to a humming heart.

Steady in its love.

It walks where I walk.

It sleeps where I sleep.

Noise of the world cannot drown its pulse,

this calming cadence.

Internal rhythm.

Strength drawn from all that lives

lies inside me

and all beings.

Waiting to be heard.

Between The Lines

line straight as the horizon

faintly blue as sky meets sea

each edged finger-width apart

my words lay cushioned by these layers

some smeared by my own hand

it was not by accident that I wrote to you

between the lines and not on them.

They arrived unattached,

expecting nothing in return,

only wanting to be heard.

Now we reside together in the rocking chair.

I open to a blank page to welcome them home.