You catch a glimpse of her bare heel as she darts behind the tree

And you are close, but not close enough

And you are quite sure that you can hear

Her heavy breathed laughter

Drifting through the woods

Amongst the ecstatic chirping

Of spring-fevered aviaries

Feathers dropping all around you

Like angels fallen

Into Earthly pleasure.

Your blood runs hot

And your legs pump with abandon

Naked feet falling into each step

Without needing to be told

Where to go.

You were made for this,

I told you so.

Once you were tired and timid

And holding back

But you felt the calling even then

And it drove you to madness.

Drawing curtains over the sadness

Pacing circles into the floorboards

Wearing them down

Until you fell right into the ground.

Well, here you are now.

You’ve done the hard work

Of pushing through the constraints

Of your old shell

And bursting open,

Now, give ’em Hell.

Give them fire and desire

Spread your petals open

And receive the Sun.

Dance with devas and dragons

And run.

Pounding steps along the forest floor

Chasing the reflection of your own desire

And finally catching up

And finding more.

Show us what you came here for.

The ancient woman, the dusty crone
Gathered up your broken bones
And sang a song around them ’til
They took new shape, spaces filled
And so you rose and took new breath
Refreshed from your cold, winter rest
With the seeds deep in the Earth
You celebrate your own rebirth
The ice melts with each passing day
You are still a child, go out and play.

Hooved prints deep in the snow
The antlers twist and curl and spread
The creature looks you in the eye
With heavy crown upon it’s head.
His gaze is piercing, cutting deep
It opens you from mind to heart.
You feel the world, and so you weep
Your tears cast sparkles in the dark.
Your exiled home within the deep
Your frozen refuge, forest home
Has kept you well, but now you creep
Out into a great unknown.
You have his solemn, sturdy grace
You stand so tall and turn around
Your stride leaves footprints much like his
Treasure glowing in the ground.
Your throat wells up with songs to sing
Your voice is carried on ahead
You follow your own echoes ’til
You lead yourself back home again.
From seen above, your prints and his
Swirl and reach around the world
And if you were to trace the path
It would look like antlers curled.

Upon breaking the surface
of the dark, choppy water
she found herself gasping for air
and felt everything so clearly
after the time spent muffled
in the dark

She was a bit frightened
of this new sense of exposure
to be linked directly
to everything around her
after that comforting prison
in the dark

Trying to remember
where she was going before,
she could not quite capture
the same feeling
that old direction

Something was different
inside of her
from being locked
in an intimate embrace
with her own shadow
and nothing else
for so very long

Disorientated, yet enlivened
the vast expanse
of potential
which she had gained
began to dawn on her
and she laughed

Breathing deeply now
the wind blew cold
on her skin
and she did not tremble
or pull away from it

After years of watching
birds pass by
from the ground
feeling stuck and resentful,
she unfurled her wings
and she flew.