1.
when i was young i captured photos of trees that i had climbed
and after i would
kiss their trunks for being so great and magnificent
my grandfather would pull the splinters from my fingers
and there was one that refused to leave
my body
it burrowed itself deep within
the inside of my finger
he said, this thing is a part of you now
2.
we give thanks
for the roots that have bound us
(we tried to cut them, didn’t we
we tried to say that we
GROW BY OURSELVES
we lie, and glory
hallelujah
amen
we
tell our truths
eventually)
3.
in new places i bear the fruits of a resurrection
BEHOLD YOU CAN BEGIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN
and they will still ask
“doesn’t it break your own heart a little to know that
you cannot stay
in one place
long enough to be whole?”
4.
this is how i learned to leave
the places i have loved
with grace
