the heel press

I close my eyes and meditate,

relax my mind, smooth my soul;

become sensitive to my periphery.

sun rays wrap my skin

yet the splashowering waterfall soothecools me

as the wind teases and whispers in my ear.

There, an old man’s last laugh coughing through the distance, like hands reaching out for warmth.

Here, a father taking his first picture of mother and son.

There, a distant cry of a child in discord with playful laughter of children.

Here, a mother scolding her girls for, just being giddy girls.

Here, grandpa and grandma skipping and prancing hand in hand…no, not skipping or prancing; not

really, only truly, celebrating their stubborn love.

Now, I absorb life, the simple moments of exuberance that surround me.

There, sparkling spurts of wild abandon from a party above.

Here, his soft kiss on her forehead, leaving a blush of love on her smile.

There, tourists hysterically capture snapshots in shutter-speed, their eyes shut to remember.

Here, surrounded by green and purple flowers: mother-nature, envelope me.

Now, I take a deep, detoxicating breath that inspires every cell of my body, every fraction of my soul.

Here, a loud piercing incision of technology, an airplane cursing mother-nature with man-made

(mocking the bird) wings; belying the humanness it carries in its belly.

Now, this twinkling serenity vanishes with a streak of piercing heartlessness.

this grass no longer feels the same under my skin.