A meeting with clarity at the river,

standing with the morning,

seeing my shadows,

knowing them, shaking hands,

“Welcome, I’ve been expecting you.”

 

Understanding why, who, how,

reasons stripping away layers

until I am naked bones

not shivering, just being

by the river, in the river, with the river.

Being bony trees,

not longing for green garments,

just being,

honoring stillness, bareness,

being little more than essence,

everything else stripped away,

peace cloaking me,

even though I didn’t need covering.

 

This must be what truth feels like—

weightless, ticklish, still, serene,

curiosity steeped in courage

propelling me further into the rubble

where I am still standing, standing still,

receiving, exploring,

listening to clarity whisper,

“Be who you are.”