The Snow Fell On The Earth Drew Its Blanket Over The Ground It Brought With It The Cold Bite And I Felt

The pious say a god created us Others say it was the other way around If one does not know What makes a fire light God would calm the fear of not knowing How to explain a lightning bolt To someone who has never seen a wheel?

We create our gods like a contest The best god wins, we are still arguing How to explain god to the secular? The inner voice whispers "You are afraid, I am here" And so gods form inside all of us each day Unknowingly, we become them

There's a comfort in our conversations A hint of longing in our voices Do we pretend not to notice? We live our lives We make choices

You are the deepest blue I am the lightest of green Together we form the trees and sky We are the earth The calming scene

We walk on roads that are parallel Kicking the dirt up off the ground I carry with me our white flag Through the dust We make no sound

I was a child Unsure what it meant To be grown

I tried to learn The way Ducklings learn To swim

But I was Not quite a duck

It did not come Instinctively

I came into Myself differently Swimming Alternatively

I don't think I was meant for Predestined plumage

I loved you once I gave it out freely Even generously But you did not Want love

You wanted affection Attention, you Wanted my time You took my energy I ran out

Where do moths live in winter? Where do wild chickens go? I see them out now that it's spring But how did they brave the snow?

How do frogs slow their bodies To sleep within the ice? Who else shelters in the walls With the warm and cozy mice?

I wonder if the fish feel cold When all the lakes freeze over Now I welcome back the friends I haven't seen since last October

Though the finches and the foxes Have been here all year long I just saw the first chipmunk Since all of them had gone

How do rabbits breathe In all the ground they are under? I guess that I could look it up But it's more fun to wonder

Come to me asking for love And I will lay you down in the Forest clearing Sun through the branches Slivers of gold, tiny trickling rivers Like goddesses over your skin. Here it is, I will tell you Here in the damp grass, on top Of the mossy rocks, softness I can't offer that anymore Though I want to Gaia, please take it from here

For a moment My mind jumps to Another world A place more familiar To me than anywhere Here on earth

It is sunshine But brighter It is a meadow But softer It is a butterfly But shining It is a reality But fleeting

I try to hold on It lasts a second I try to keep it inside My flowing brain But as quickly as it Comes it is gone

I am remembering But forgetting I had belonged But briefly I was at peace Completely I am searching Come back

We used to be birds In a cage together When we thought We wanted to live there

Now we soar high In different weather Spreading wings In the same open air

I've seen you in clouds I'll see you forever I flew to the heavens You flew everywhere

Some people worry of my isolation They think, "you are alone, this is terrible" I think, you are surrounded, which is worse

They think I need companionship Because they need companionship Because "that eccentric person over the hill Far away from the village must be lonely"

Speak too much and I will stop speaking Get to know me and I will unknow you I have moments of wanting to be known They are fleeting and most often, regretful

This is not some flaw in myself to be fixed Do not teach me to socialize I am solitary and they think I am not thriving

Yes, I am in relationship with the wasteland You read of it like it is not my refuge When the quiet, the solitude, the great alone Carries me like a protective lover, away

The parishioners walk the oldest streets Late in the scornful, spectral night "Begone you devil spirits!" they cry "Protect us from their ancient blight!"

Dressed in robes of black and white The priest in front calling, praying Chanting like they are summoning ghosts Ironic, the wraiths are hiding, playing

"Begone you hateful, wicked things!" The churchgoers try to cleanse the town Where once they scorched their witches Now cackling, the terrified voices drown