yes, we all wonder sometimes
if we are more than meaningless specks
on a dying planet and
yes, all things tend toward chaos but
you, staring up at the stars wondering,
are a counterexample

a little girl was raised by wolves.
they taught her to be fierce, loud and brave
how to sing to the midnight moon
and withhold no part of herself.

and even when her body changed,
they still treated her as one of them.

now she feels beautiful
in basketball shorts and a sports bra
and knows how to speak her mind
and play and fight and swear and laugh
and sing to the midnight moon.

and she loves herself
just as she is:
a wolf in a woman’s body.

bare feet on
warm pavement,
white blooming hawthorn,
the audible hum of honeybees,
black bats silhouetted against
piercing fiery blue, hot air
thick with perfume,
birdsong and pollen

tonight I fell in love
with the fullness
of the moon
the roses
and the sky.

sometimes all it takes
is a small gesture of kindness
and everything you didn't

realize you were holding in
comes pouring out,
hurt that was buried

years ago, maybe
all it takes is a reminder that
love transcends time and space

and even death and betrayal.
today I let myself go there
sobbing on the kitchen floor

alone but not alone.
today I let myself feel loved
and feel

what had been numb
feel
everything.

empty, still
the quiet absence
of a house that
was bustling yesterday
and will be tomorrow.
tears cold against
midnight air.
not anguish,
just
feeling
profound. thoughts
deeper than daytime
can hold. feelings. deeper
love. deeper
grief. stronger
gratitude. profound
midnight thoughts fill
a void bigger than daytime
can fill.
not empty,
the quiet absence
just
too real
or maybe just
real
enough.

what if
you took a step back,
saw your life as
the work of art it is,
made beautiful by
tireless perfectionism and
ultimate lack of control,
treasured creations and
unseen shadows,
internal battles and
conflicting thoughts,
all together striking
balance,
contrast,
a wilderness of
human intricacy?