KEIRA LYNN DODD

Meditation

 

The candle flickers
unsteadily, like a new colt
on newborn feet.
I watch it with eyes closed. 
Breath comes unbidden.
I am away on a wind
that chases me
to places I’ll never see.
I am lost, a phantom:
I haunt myself
with recurring dreams
of empty houses
full of empty books
that I long to fill
with my own words.
I race through,
never touching anything,
but reaching, reaching
to get my hands on
something I can keep,
something that is mine.
I return, dizzy,
breath catching,
a reminder that I’m still here.
Here, I am still,
silent and empty,
and okay with that.
A restless thought
boogies by,
tries to get me to dance.
This time I smile at it. 
The flame glows eternal,
as it always had,
only this time my eyes
are open.