The Litany of Sleep

The litany of sleep
has me listing the ways
in which this day reminds me
of how to love the recurrent thoughts
that foster all the ways I am broken open
to simple kindnesses.

I smile at the surprise of skin
on the back of a hand
painted with flowers.

I delight in miles traveled
with renewed prayers on my lips
like honey and sweetest
water from a generous well.

I sing as if my voice is silver
slipping through a ring of birds
who bless me, sacred and wise musicians
translating joy into sound.

My breath is shallow
and whispers quietly at this opening
where the birth of a new life
is an invitation to deepest truth
that we all understand
and have forgotten how to read.

Take the pages
from the purest white.
sheets soaked
and waiting for time
to rush in,

and divide the unexpected
into equal portions
of  inhalations
and the letting go
of our grip
on air
we've already
consumed.




recurrence, surgeon, litany supreme foster