The book I will take with me on this journey

is not the book I chose from my shelf

last night

Then, I was looking

searching too hard for the right book

But this morning I am not yet long

awake, not yet separated from dream

The book I reach for now and read from

has not been hunted

It’s not anything except here

Quiet

Inside are words ordered

in a form and language that speak

with a clarity

I can hear

I am either weak or strong or neither

Their wisdom resonates

Even through the blur of emotion

I receive their message

I am receptable

Not yet am I ready but I half understand

one thing better:

Walking toward dilemma is a slow

deliberate walk, without fear or resistance

To know how to navigate comes

not through anticipation of what I think

might unfold but through experience

Stepping into the moment as it is

unfolding around and within me

If I can stand still inside this unfolding

maybe afterward, when I step out of it

Climb up from the river on the other side

I will have new understanding

or I will not

Either way, I am on the move

forward

Shivering only slightly now,

Ready🪶