Solace

I wanted to put an image to my experience of solace, so I embroidered it into this poem.

I walked by this river for years, back and forth.

The trees I once swayed with,

their leaves dancing in the wind,

watched the sun create a bridge of light across the water.

They once held the heaviness of my head.

I witnessed those trees disappear,

and the dusty road be paved with time.

As those corners of the landscape vanished,

they carried pieces of me with them.

What remained were moments engraved in memory.

I found solace by this river,

and my wonder never stopped wondering.

What is solace, anyway?

It’s late at night,

the perfect hour for questions like these.

I’m sitting on a couch,

and my imagination offers those moments back to me

the running water,

the little waves moving like meditation,

the periwinkle,

the scent of Egyptian jasmine and basil in the air.

They were all by the river.

I was saved

by all the beauty

of this corner of the world.