Aftercloud

When I admit I’ve been wrong

and that you’ve been true, I want to pick up

all I’ve broken with my insistence and bring

you flowers you’ve never seen.

This is what it means to make amends.

When a misunderstanding unravels,

I want to linger in that clearing, and put

aside our beliefs, which weigh us down

like old iron castings we’ve carried

around for generations.

This is what it means to listen.

When we use up all the names we’ve

been given and simply help each other

with whatever is before us, we are as close

as the first friends drinking from a stream.

This is what it means to be here now.

To admit when we’re wrong, to linger

in the clearing, and to use up all our names,

this is how the soul shows itself

in the time we have.

A Question to Walk With: In conversation with a friend or loved one, have each of you share a story about a time when were wrong and how you handled your discovery of this.

This excerpt is from my book in progress, The Fifth Season.

*Photo credit: Anastasiya Lobanovskaya