"I breathe deeply and settle the air In my stomach, and shut my eyes The faint scent of beginning..."

“

I breathe deeply

and settle the air

In my stomach,

and shut my eyes

The faint scent of beginning

on the top of the

morning mist

I whisper to the bare earth

This year, this year, this year

Let me find the lightness

Of fresh green ferns unfurling

Here, in the late-spring days,

In the dark earth,

the sponge of pine needles

from winters past

Underfoot, I look to

the cloudless sky, and think,

This year, this year, this year

Kiss me on the forehead,

Let the butterflies break

from their cocoons

and dance in my stomach

and I’ll shut my eyes,

Breath deeply and whisper

This year, this year, this year

”



- Natalie Wise