Being of Earth, Being of Sky

[Damian and Great-Gramma]

I am the plodding matriarch,

bowed down under the weight

of my decades,

the weight

of those who press me

to carry the burdens

they don't want to carry.

I am the vast and unrestricted

being of light,

born in a thousand galaxies,

made up of particles of stardust,

strong with the wisdom of the ages,

and able to bear all burdens.

I am tired

with the accumulation

of decades of unremitting effort

gone largely unnoticed.

My body falters

on unsteady legs

that collapse

under me

when I walk too far.

I need a cane and,

on some days,

a scooter.

I refuse both.

Determinedly,

I keep on walking.

I am alive with

the energy of the sun,

fanned by the wings

of a thousand fairies.

In the light of the morning,

I rise and traverse the heavens,

like an orb,

like a daytime moon,

like a trajectory

of shimmering radiance,

a prism refracting

incandescence

through the everness of time.

I climb into bed each night

grateful for rest.

I climb out each morning

alive with

the possibilities

of the day.

I keep breathing.

Each breath,

each new morning,

is a gift

for which

I stay

immensely grateful.

The burdens

are not the journey,

just the accessories

to the journey.

The journey is

the Keeping On.

The journey is the

Staying Grateful.

The journey is

Being Alive.

The body

houses the spirit.

The spirit

fuels the body.

The body walks;

the spirit flies Above.

It flies Beyond.

Spirit knows

where we are going.

Nothing earthbound

can stop its flight

except

our refusal

to fly.