Impermanence - Part Two

Turning around, she saw solid wall formed by the ivy she had breached through, and as she tried to take a step toward her only exit, her feet remained glued to the stone ground. She turned to the child who smiled and gestured her toward the fountain. She took a step forward, her feet magically unglued, and moved further into the depth of the mysterious park. Each step she took felt like she was wading through soft ground covered in cloudy water, as if the ground could turn to quicksand and swallow her up. A scream rose silently through her throat as she felt slime snake around her toes, its weedy claws caressing her feet. She treaded through the murky softness guided by the light of her umbrella and paws of the little child who held her fingers. Just before reaching their destination, her feet landed on her fear, a puddle of quicksand which quickly swallowed her.

Rosa lay flat on her back, her nightmare running as a vivid motion picture, frame by frame behind closed eyelids. She hugged her body and slowly opened her eyes to find them staring into blinding sunlight. A warm hand touched her forehead and she turned her gaze towards the angelic face beside her. She blinked once and then again, to adjust the haze that had covered her eyes, and tried to bring the face to focus. Her nightmare or was it a pathway to this bizarre dream and she was still living it to visit this heavenly being. She let the gentle hands guide her up and walk to a bench under a weeping willow. Rosa touched the woman’s silky, white hair, caressed her soft, coffee skin and continued to stare shamelessly, unsure of everything. 
 

Kissed by the flowing, leafy hair of the willow, Rosa listened to the soft lull of the woman’s voice as she revealed the nature of things. Trickles from the fountain reached her ears, the exact one she had seen with the child or was it the puppy?  Just as a whisper of wind embraced her cheeks, bringing with it fragrances unknown, Rosa recognized that this was not heaven nor earth, not planet nor star, not dream nor reality. A form sat next to her in the image of a woman, but she felt merged into the illusion. The woman was there, with her angelic face, love in her smile, warmth in her embrace, a woman with no story or label, nor perceived connection. Rosa accepted with an open heart in this formless association. Nature of things as in that moment were just as is, with nothing but overwhelming love.

To Be Continued...

Impermanence - Part One

Rosa looked out of her bedroom window and watched the rain patter down hard onto the sidewalks.  Each drop merged in the rivulets as they snaked their way from streets into underground channels, skirting all that lay in the path - pebbles, a runaway paper boat, a black puppy. Rosa watched the doleful creature exposed to the elements, its shaggy fur matted and soaked, its floppy ears drooped in sadness. She grabbed her yellow umbrella and charged out her front door, but when she reached the side street, the dog had roved away. She treaded down the alley circling to the back of her house where she spotted shaggy tail disappear down a bend. Her feet splashed through the twisted path, another turn just before she saw the dog disappear through an arched doorway.

Rosa followed and found herself in a courtyard swathed in ivies of pink bougainvillea, lush in their wet beauty. A bark directed her attention to the south wall of the ivy and she balanced her yellow umbrella at an angle, parted the green and pink wet curtain and peeked in. Behind it she saw the puppy beckoning her in with its short, staccato barks, as if to share his shelter. Rosa folded her umbrella and ducked in through the ivy curtain, her hair catching sprinkles of rainwater and pink flowers. Inside the shelter, she bent down to the puppy with her hands reaching out as if in friendship.

As soon as her fingers touched the wet paws, in the blink of her eye everything changed around her. She found herself in a dark room holding tiny fingers of a small child standing next to her. Her yellow umbrella stood as tower in the child’s hand, glowing like a street lamp. The child opened it and like the sun, her umbrella illuminated the world around them.

Rosa froze in her place, her eyes unblinking, absorbing all that surrounded her. The little den had transformed into a park with a dancing fountain in its center. She saw sculptures scattered throughout, partially hidden in hedges that were pruned to shapes of mythical creatures. She spotted a unicorn and a couple of elephants with a baby’s body. Thin, tall trees towered over her, their tops too high for her to see. Not a drop of water reflected on the park surface, only sunshine from what used to be her umbrella bathed her with its radiance. Music of rainwater reached her ears as if from a faraway land, its romance gradually fading.

To Be Continued... 
 
 

Vicissitudes

the season is changing

there are transformations happening all around

transitions are hard, you or me

suffering happens before cleansing begins

we are strong, you and me

we come out victorious, no matter what 

seasons change

to make way for new beginnings

life changes

to open new doors

we feel the low before reaching high

the climb is hard but the peak is sublime

we are strong, you and I

we need the transitions before we can be whole 

our lives are cycles

with transitions and victories

emotions are bitter and then they are sweet

evolution goes on, the world changes

we are strong, you and I

we embrace the deviations, in season and life

we flow in harmony to the music of the world 

Hang in there!

we are part of a constant change

and the beauty we can carry within us

from each end to the new beginning.