Untitled
by Isabell Ku
Breathe in. Breathe out.
For a moment you can just be.
For a moment it's just you, the trees,
birdsong in your ears.
The soft path beneath your feet --
outstretched fingers combing the land.
All of this belongs to you
just as much as you belong to it.
There is life in this sanctuary,
and it's yours to get to know --
You see the way the branches reach out?
Little vibrant flower faces upturned
when you wander by.
Nature tamed by hands older than yours,
was and still is ripe for the picking.
This earth has been tilled and filled,
And the soil is crumbled up history.
If you look carefully, you might even see
the footsteps that came before you.
It is a slice of Michigan served on a plate,
Rich and easy for you to dig into.
Do you feel it between your fingers?
It lives and breathes and laughs --
It remembers the swamp and bubbling creek,
the floods and frozen winters.
Do you remember who you are?
Your mind can be silent here;
Surely, there's enough open space for
your thoughts to fit.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
