Balancing on the Equinox

This entry was posted on Oct 23, 2012 by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg.

Balancing on the Equinox

equinox

Balancing Tree

The golden tree holds her pose for several breaths,

each one a dazzle of wind, rise, fall, feather and run.

Meantime, time. Meanwhile, a man on a bicycle pumping hard

to get up the hill. Meanwhile, the dog tearing down the street,

leash flying behind him. Meanwhile, the equinox:

a balance point when one white plastic bag pauses

at the side of the tree, a flag or spirit or sign

before dropping down to trash again.

 

I stand in the backyard in tree: my right leg trembling

as it supports me, my left knee bent, leading the hip open.

I press my palms together at my heart and wish for balance

even, especially, while falling. The storm to come

cups the west side of this life. The heat of summer cups the right.

I exhale. The golden tree across the way holds very still

then surrenders everything in the wide arms of the world.

Tags
About Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the Poet Laureate of Kansas, and the author of 14 books, including a forthcoming novel, The Divorce Girl; The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community & Coming Home to the Body (Ice Cube Books); and four collections of poetry. Founder of Transformative Language Arts – a master's program in social and personal transformation through the written, spoken and sung word at Goddard College (Goddard College); where she teaches, Mirriam-Goldberg also leads writing workshops widely. With singer Kelley Hunt, she co-writes songs, offers collaborative performances, and leads writing and singing Brave Voice retreats (www.BraveVoice.com); and she blogs regularly at her website (www.CarynMirriamGoldberg.wordpress.com)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *