I breathe,
Letting recognition
Settle in
And through
The experience
Of filling
My body
With air
Over
And over
And over.
Then I notice
Breathing
And recognizing
Breathing
And noticing
Recognition,
And the air
On my face
Is cool,
And my partner’s
Sleep sounds
Are steady,
And the mint
In my mouth
Is almost cold
As I breathe
And notice
And breathe.

I hover
Above
My body,
Barely
Noticing
Its aching
And resenting
It anyway.
And then
I ask
For breaths
For stretches
For bends
And twists
And my body
Forgives me
My choices
And offers
Me
Three more
Before I
Realize
My prying
Falls short
And let go.

My mind
Wanders
From bit
To bit
And but
To but,
Each feeling
Too big
To leave
Room
For the others.
And then
I notice
Space
Between beats
Between breaths
Between tendon
And bone
For me
To be still
While my mind
Just isn’t.

I lay soft spots
About
And drape her parts
Across and over
To rest and
Expand
To let
This all
In
With room left
For her.  
And I,
And she,
Feels
Gratitude.

Nothing will ever be the same.
This shared context.
It’s...Unreal?
Or more real
Than we can ever understand.
I keep thinking...
Am I dreaming?
Are we all?
...Asleep?
...Awake?
I am
I know
We are
I think
We know
That nothing will ever be the same.

And from within
My edges
And the edges
Of my mat,
I crept
Around bends
I’d never noticed,
Reached for bits
Beyond bits I know,
Peered in spaces
Long forgotten,
And let my movement
Grow my world
And my world
Grow me.

Today
I began  
Tired
And alone
Bending my body,
And watching
My mind
Welcome
The folks
I carry
With me
Within.
And I realized
Suddenly
I’d been mistaken -
Today was not
The beginning,
After all.