Freedom

She’s the first breath you suck in after you’ve been under for a while
The silence of the morning you’ve been waiting for
Alone, at dawn, with nothing but the vast and still blueness
And your movement, melting into the rippled surface.

She’s in the white crunch underfoot and all around
The chilly mountain air and the gravitas carried by old pines
A fleeting moment shared, if you bow to their sacredness
And acknowledge their graceful acceptance.

She’s in the soft curve of your child’s nose
The key to the universe you know is hidden in the pattern of her irises
She’s in your swelling heart that now knows only expansion
And the new breeze, promising the clicking of seasons.

Like a homecoming is at once both exhilarating and peaceful
She’s not just one thing.

She’s in the joy you feel opening your eyes
The lightness with which you walk later on
The presence that you offer at the table
The choices that you make when out
The body you chose to inhabit every day
The mind you help shape all the time.

She’s all these things and more
And like you, when you step out of the shadows and choose nothing less but yourself,
she’s invincible.