Dawn Meditation

Aware of being closer to death than to birth, I light a candle as night's shadows recede. This wick of fire, kin to stars, opens a doorway to the cosmos. My mother, father, and son, all unbroken, whole and beautiful, greet me. Our time together is precious. I see them doing what they loved: my mother her polka, my father pitching a perfect game, my son kicking the winning goal. When the knot in my heart releases, I blow out the flame and begin my day.

a goldfinch
swoops into my garden
as if she owns it
I almost remember
having feathers

Marilyn Hazelton, Notes from the Gean, March 2011.