The Earth Breathes

 

I sat in the surf and let the water pass over me

I felt the pull of the currents

As they ebbed and flowed

The sand piled around me

Placed by the waves

I felt the breath of the earth

In each wave that moved over me

Breathing me into its depths

Releasing the pressure in my heart

 

I felt the wind toss my hair

Lifting the strands and moving them

I felt the peace of the earth

As it eased me into being

Creating a space of lightness

In those waves were dolphins

I saw them playing

I wanted to swim with them

To feel them buffet me

Bump me and move me toward the shore

 

I cried so often

Looking for who I was

Looking for who I should be

Grasping for something that I could hold

That would be mine

Something that did not say

“She is broken, she is bruised”

I sat and felt the water pass over me

I felt the earth breathe

I heard it whisper to me

“You are whole, you are precious,

You are mine”