Monday, April 3, 2017

lanterns

we are making bags for the dead.
we light the candles
and set the lanterns free on the current.
the line makes its way
out into the bay and turns
the corner into open ocean,
the water calm,
the sky calm, the heart steady.

this is a way to remember
the way home.
sitting on a boat
drinking wine with strangers,
taking in this moment
as the light fades.

back on dry land
there are different rhythms,
the waves of loss and
something close to joy,
the way a smile slowly emerges
even as sadness fills the body,
the way every light
reminds you of the ones you love
and the ones left behind.