Deb Goldman

Blessings of the Summer Solstice

This same earth...
that gives way to summer,
honeysuckled air
suffused with excited exclamations of children
the crunch of pebbles beneath feet
a cacophony of birdsong
and the quiet 
of turtle sunning on rock

This same earth... 
that brings forth berries ripe from the vine
warm and sweet on the tongue,
dogwood dressed in white
light dancing on water
a swell of wind awakening to present moment

This same earth...
that holds the 
broken and beloved bench
home to spontaneous conversations among strangers,
immersed in a moment of shared humanity

This same earth... 
under pink-hued sky,
summer solstice sun setting 
as I witness bedside
a moment so tender between husband and wife
my eyes tear,
as their 54 years 
come to a close,
their love becoming memory.

This same earth... 
upon which I travel…safely,
while others are harassed, imprisoned,
sometimes shot
because of the hue of their skin 
the origins of their birth
and a history so scarred
that we strain to see one another
or ourselves

This same earth...
illuminated and warmed 
by a light so ancient and brilliant 
that it sees
there are no borders to cross here
only land and water
belonging to itself.

This same earth…
holds us all
the woman innocently exploring the woods with her child
and the baby ripped from her mother’s breast
the protester 
and the border patrol officer
the vulnerable in their cages
and the trumped-up demigods

This same earth…
holds us all
in our moments of exquisite intimacy 
and connection
and utter despair

She is here,
holding us
her roots entangled for centuries beneath our feet
She reaches out
erupting into mountains,
breaking open into valleys 
giving way to ocean’s edge

She erodes, 
as do our lives,
dying each year
to be reborn again
to birdsong and honeysuckle

She sacrifices her fruits to us
so we may eat
and be sustained for the journey ahead
Her waters warmed for us to immerse
and be awakened 
to the life beating in our chests,
that same life
echoed in every living being 

Our skin bare,
our hearts broken open
our minds spacious as vast blue sky,
we step into a new day.