once upon a time there was

a girl whose heart was open

wide and who, with stars in

her eyes stepped out on the

path of life

 

it wasn’t too long until a bit

of rain began. first, it was a

drizzle and with a smile she

brushed the droplets from her

eyes with ease.

 

as the journey continued, the rains

grew more consistent. yes, there

were days of sunshine, too, but

when the rain struck hard and fast

she leaned into the wind.

 

and then the storms began, the kind

that stopped her in her tracks and

knocked her down flat, but every

morning she would climb back up

one foot at a time.

 

until one day she could no longer

rise. and as she lay, she wondered

all kind of things. how had she

failed, would she ever walk again,

and was she even worthy?

 

and she was compelled to rest. and

she learned that rest was good, that

it was okay to shelter in the storm,

that life had rhythms and that

healing is a part of these.

 

she watched as her wounds began to

mend, painfully slow but steady, and

she began to hobble. and while

sometimes she stumbled, she

discovered she was surely  

 

growing stronger than before and

learning to live with intention and

boundaries and things that were

appropriate all along, but that she

was discovering at last.

 

and while it would be nice to simply

state that she lived happily ever after,

she did develop deep and abounding joy,

and peace and contentment were often

her companion, realistically ever after.

 

©Heather Pound 2023

image:Wolf Zimmermann via Unsplash