The Forest

I find myself humbled

By the beauty of this world

By these landscapes

I can’t help but see

A mirror reflecting

The broken things

in us that we try to fix

We root ourselves

in our most precious places

With arms that stretch outward

Growing and reaching

Forging new relationships

Making new memories

With those around us

And we have scars

That tell a story about how we have survived

In the face of insurmountable odds

We tell the story

Of being reborn from the ashes

Of wildfires 

That have ravaged us

That have left us empty

And afraid

And somehow hopeful

That we would come up from the forest floor

That we might make room

For something more beautiful

and more sacred

And before long

A mossy ground cover emerges

that shows us

that even when we feel stripped bare

When all of our mistakes are visible

On display for everyone to see

Something new and green

Will come to us and make us believe

That everything will be okay

And before long we are forests of trees

Who have been born out of immense heartache

From suffering

And fear

From fire and devastation

And the forest is messy

Not a thing is in its place

And yet it is all exactly where it is meant to be

That must be the beauty

Of growing older

Of starting over

Of not knowing what might happen next

I hope my heart is a forest

I hope I fill these veins with meaning

Long after I’ve finished breathing.