I awoke, healed from the wounds of yesterday
I’m feeling more blessed than stressed today
I commanded the pain in my chest away

And with the feeling there’s still so much left to say
Stories await me, a fresh array
I gather my papers and nest away

Now I find myself seated before a Great Lake
Reminiscing on life, what it gives, what it takes
While I breathe in the air, living for living’s sake

I look out at the blue and recall past mistakes
But they all dissipate like currents and wakes
Until they resurface in my chest as an ache

But I’ve written reminders, what to do in this instance
Often the worst remedy is resistance
So I let the pain sit as the lake water glistens

I speak my troubles and the universe listens
I lay out my burdens and state all my wishes
I extend my arms toward the birds and the fishes

And I step across stones, aligned on the shore
Wondering if I hold the same truth in my core
As these boulders, or do I mean something more

Than the diving birds fulfilling their chores
Or the fish unaware what they’re swimming for
Perhaps my role is to simply explore

For in the far future, when I myself erode
And I am unliving and withering bones
Who’s to say I had more purpose than stones

I’ll be grateful I was given a lane in the road
For there’s nothing I can honestly say I was owed
I’m not steering this ride, but I’m thankful I rode

And when the trip has weathered on my mind
And this anxious essence is all I find
I return to my roots, I stay patient and kind

I accept the hurt’s presence, but we will not bind
It is invisible, but my heart is not blind
So I step toward peace and leave the ache behind