Revisiting "Wild Geese"

an homage to Mary Oliver, one year after her death. You do not have to prove yourself worthy

You need not toil and endure

hardship to justify your existence;

there is no requirement to mold

yourself into a more acceptable

form shrinking to

accommodate others,

becoming softer and more subdued,

or ensuring that your essence

is easily grasped and consumed.

Embrace your full complexity;

you are worthy simply as you are.

You only need to stand still

 to feel the earth holding you,

 steady beneath your tired feet,

 to let the wind press its cool hands

 against your face like an old friend.

Tell me

 when did you first believe

 you had to apologize for your existence,

 had to soften your edges

 so the world would not flinch?

Listen

 the river does not ask permission to carve stone,

 the tide does not hesitate before it pulls away,

 the geese still rise in sharp-winged certainty,

 calling out to no one but themselves.

And you

 you were never meant to be quiet water,

 never meant to shrink to fit their brittle rules.

 You are the fire moving across the hills,

 the echo in the canyon,

 the storm that bends the pines

 but does not break them.

Somewhere, a flame flickers

 in the dark country of your heart—

 bright, untamed, wholly your own.

Step forward.

 The world is waiting.

kfr, 2020