It is a beautiful
challenge to preface a piece of writing and tell you where it came from…
Most of the time, I
don't know its origin. When I write, I move aside and let myself be written
onto the page so I can know myself more deeply. Most of my poetry tends to
reveal itself as 'belonging'. I spill words out in a stream and when I read them
back to myself, I notice a theme that strands me together into a set of
imperfect pearls illuminating their own inherent beauty. It is through writing
that I find where I belong. It gives me roots and wings as it unveils the soft
underbelly of my vulnerability that sits along side a mountain of
strength.
The Soles of my Feet
by Leslie Caplan
The soles of my feet know this
ground
My arch settles into the moist
soil feeding
my blood flow with its cool touch
I might never step one more foot
on the land you have given me
but it has seeped into my
bloodstream
and floats on the whims of a river
like a strand of pearls thrown
into the rippling water
of where it came from
The soles of my feet know this
ground
Sun sizzling the horizon
as a crescent white glow
floats against a darkening sky
I can't know
the reasons why
anymore
I can only know
I can touch the earth miraged in
heat
or caked in snow
I feel the ground and I know
I belong here
No where else until I shed this
body
do I belong
Sometimes I cry
without tears falling
My heart yearning and reaching
for some nebulous, translucent
unknown
If I could strum its song
I'd resound each note
out into each veined leaf
that resurrects from
the winter's barren hold
The soles of my feet know this
walk
The one that moves from the hips
and
sways the lower back into a curve
like
a sand dune in the stillness of
an ocean with no wind
Just a breath so deep
it holds itself in the cradle
of a womb
and when spring comes
will birth itself into a
blossoming renewal
of all that once was shed
I hold the soles of my feet
in the palms of my hands
like a baby curling herself
back into her innate position
An agile body rolling and rocking
into a sooth of rhythm
only earth and sky can write
into the script of a human life
I kiss the ground I walk on
It holds me up and digs me into
a collective spinal cord made of
tree roots
that have been standing here
for a thousand years
ancient in their knowing of
all things that pass
and all things that stay
here
with me.
Leslie Caplan is a passionate writer and has been published internationally. She is a professional Writing Coach and editor who encourages and evokes the strongest, deepest expression of the writer's voice and heart. She also facilitates writing workshops where writing is used as a tool for revealing and healing. She lives in the small town of Ashland, Oregon and you can connect with her on her 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!~
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