Hello

Hello, soft grass

Craggy apple tree

River willows.

Hello, being a useful presence for my father, brother, grandparents, nephews, sister-in-law.

That part feels easy.

Hello, milkweed feeding butterflies-to-be

Like me.

Hello, greeting eagle

White egret

Vast blue sky of awareness circumferenced by clouds

Hello, morning fog

Evening shadows

Present moment

Ease in my body

Deep sense of purpose and place

I notice you, lack of sorrow and grief.

Thanks, Lake, for imparting your wisdom

I pray to you now, hills,

Valley, place of my ancestors

What do I need to know?

Patience, like the river.

You are here now

You made it.

Welcome.

We love you.

I love you, too.

Breathe in and out

The butterfly, the heron

I am glad.

This place of my birth and recent ancestry

That called me here in my dreams

With its soil and rolling hills and dipping, soaring monarchs

I greet you with my full cells

My healing heart

My joyful existence.

I offer you flower essence from Vermont and a quartz stone

My own tears and fears

And my love and gratitude.

I can’t wait to see what we will create together.

Here and now

I’m living many questions on this, your hallowed ground.