stillness inside

reeds by the stream
direct the sun downwards,
opening doors:
I stand rooted to dry land,
locked in an old landscape

a bare branch
above the water
a scratch of stalks –
as harsh and as sharp
as this life torn by pain

no clear path here
in this shadowy web
of tangled twigs:
I tilt my head to discern
ripples of the future

listening
for small sounds of life
and renewed hope – 
the splash of a fish
catching frail damselflies

sounds of the past
roar along the river,
shifting focus:
here at the eye of the storm
stillness reaches inside

 

[This is another of the tanka strings from my new book, written in conjunction with Joy McCall and called Stillness Lies Deep. Joy’s words are in italics. The book is available from Mousehold Press.]