at any moment
it may all collapse

the economy, icebergs, fragile peace
best be ready, I practice endings

write my memorial poem
prepare my husband’s eulogy

even as he sits beside me
reading
full bodied, content.

all this dwelling

on the utter beauty
of a trillion snowflakes
blown from their nighttime perch

caught by dawn’s first orange

the luxury of an empty day unfurling
a carpet to ride or lounge upon
like a cat

the shadows of the deer moving over
the white field at full moon

I could go on, and on

tell me, how else can we open our eyes
but by knowing that soon enough

they will close.

Awareness of death, our own and those of our beloveds, is the single most powerful meditative tool we have in our human arsenal to bring us into our aliveness, into our present, into our gratitude. It is ever present at all times to inform and remind.

 

Note: This poem is from Priya’s book of Bone and Breath.

~

Author: Priya Huffman

Editor: Travis May

Image: Flickr/David Peterrsson