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LISTENING TO LEAVES by Krista Katrovas


This poem came after hearing the news of my mother and childhood friend having surgery on the same day…

 Our connection to leaves, to the falling away of years, time, health, youth, and the beauty of witnessing such impermanence, offers one such profound gratitude for what is given.

Listening to Leaves, reminded me of the life of leaves -as well as our own life- and our connection to our ancestors, and the need to witness such beauty along with the passing. 

Listening to Leaves

She stayed up till nothing
but leaves could be heard.
Sat listening to the shuffle
of their brittle toes
skipping down the streets
of Kalamazoo,
the ballerinas of fall.

They sashay
through neighborhoods
of old homes
that house the spirits of women
that once stayed up late, too,
like she,
to watch, listen,
and dance to the sound of leaves.

The fiery moon,
a Lunar Eclipse in Aries,
sends waves of emotion,
feelings she
has yet to understand.

She thinks of the falling,
of leaves, of life, years,
of how fast the seasons
mark the change of time.

The breath of these
Maple, Oak, Poplar
as they intertwine their limbs
like ballroom dancers
ready to twirl into frenzy
before landing their sweat beads
made of leaves
onto the sidewalks
comforts and saddens her.

People shuffle through these leaves
without thought of their dance,
or of how truly hard it is to break free
from such movement.
Everything wants to live.

The women
and the spirit of these women
haven’t forgotten.
They listen
to the voices of their Grandmothers,
to Unci, to the moon, the wind,
to leaves.

They stay up late
catching the silence,
witnessing the fall,
learning from sounds,
words only spoken through leaves.

During the sleeping hum of husbands,
partners,
children and pets,
women enter softness,
dance to the tenderness of it,
to how the fall feels,
to how it feels
to be among the fallen,
and how vast the impermanence
is felt in the silence.

They worship, listen,
and breathe with Mother Earth,
hearing the songs
of their Grandmothers
found late at night
dancing within the leaves.  
~
Photography by Katarina Silva


Krista Katrovas (E-RYT) has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering it in 1999 after dancing rigorously as a dance major in college. Krista has had scores of articles on Yoga, Wellness, and Spirituality published in nationally regulated magazines. She has a regular column at Elephant Journal here. She has taught Yoga in Prague every July since 2009 and has been sought to teach in Kuwait, Canada, Virginia, California, Kentucky, and Florida. She calls Kalamazoo, Michigan home, where she teaches Yoga, Meditation, offers Spiritual guidance, and practices Shamanism. She has cats, though also loves dogs, all animals. Her power animal is the Snowy Owl. Visit her yoga website here.


~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~  

Comments

  1. So beautiful, tender, and coming from such a sad but yet so hopeful place...just beautiful! Thank you! Thank you! Just the soothing what my heart needed today. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That last stanza simply sang to my heart <3

    ReplyDelete

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