A BETTER COURSE IS IN OUR MAKING by Beth Haist

We are curators of our own wisdom
Archivists of this breath and the next—
20,000 per day , I heard
20,000 breaths to shift, reflect
Forgive, move on
Begin again.

So I count my breaths
Watching the condensation
Crystallize
Freeze in the air

Remembering, just for today-

We are our own stonemasons of thought
We are our own Cleopatras of action-
Queens of Kings

Showing our treasures of splendor
Not in secret
But out in the light
For all to rummage thru

Finding their own keys
Their own ways
Of
Being.

Our only banner: welcome.
Our only banner:you belong.
The only hold is laughter
The only remembrance:song.

It is time
To heal
To mend

Like many before us
We will lattice the rope
Eye the needle
Steady our hands

Because this time
A better course
Is in our making