We are not out of the woods yet.
What the heaven does that mean?
Have we sacrificed at the altar
of pride and avarice so long that
we’ve lost all direction?
Forgotten
how to read the sun, sense the wind?
what side moss grows on?
the pulse of tree-chatter under soil
and crow’s warning from above?
Does the stream still make us weep
or have we extorted all substance
for illegal tender?
Has our trail of breadcrumbs and bloodshed
tricked us too deep into the forest and
obscured many into oblivion?
Bear or wolf or raccoon might say:
“Treading amidst the rubble,
toiling along that rocky path
is a wise existence
but it’s not Life itself.
Wake up, humans! You are
so much more than your suffering.”
How long can we survive the wild,
alone to each other,
with no pocket knives
or prayers of contrition?
Let us pray then
for enough of a clearing
to see the light,
to exhale a unified sigh
from the soles of our aching feet—
to honor, even in continued nightfall,
our pure north star.
Let us relearn
that compass
and compassion
are one and the same—
both lead us Home
to our divinity.
Excerpted from Essential Astonishments: Poetic Reflections for Awakening by Gina Mazza (November 1, 2023). Available on Amazon and booksellers worldwide.
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