Return
Every armful
pulling me back
amidst my present turmoil
reminds me
of my young voyager
who I rescued from my past
with the knowledge
of whence I came.
And as each wave
pounds a current lesson
I am reminded
of my past,
and the small child
who bravely did her best
but desperately
needs me
now.
As she leans
heavily into me
I realize her weight
only drags me down
unless
I work hard
against this current
to bring her back here,
for without her
there is no me.
Without her
my future
has no meaning.
Without her
my present
has no relevance.
So I return and learn
from where I sprung.
As salmon do
and redder as they go
from their beginnings, spawn.
And as geese fly to their return
honking in a loud 'V'ictory
following the last wing
toward the tomorrow sun.
They know
their view of the future
keeps an eye on the last,
that the tide of today
is wrapped in the wake
of the past.
The journey of backward
becomes the forward
armed with the child
and knowledge
of early times.
As frailty grows from fear,
strength grows from understanding.
Moving ahead meant going back
and the hidden truth
became the bear in the clouds
protecting tomorrows.
The sky cleared to its blue truth,
when I remembered my start,
with respect of my beginnings.
I empowered my moment,
when I forgave and allowed my young fears
and blew those clouds to what was.
And so my young traveller,
your return has meant
what any sky might deliver to our watered here and now,
would at once be,
the moment between there and there,
so sleep now, my small twin,
for tomorrow we must swim and begin again.
LauraLee K. Harris
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