her soul rushes forward
and she can hear the sound of it
in her ears
as she sits
at the edge of alignment
dangling her feet in the ether
it swirls about her
like rushing water
when the world disintegrates
she plunges in
down becomes up,
the cardinal points disappear
and she floats
like a free bird
what do you exactly want
they ask her
or they want her to ask it
of herself
but all she wants
is not to return to earth at all
to live in the ether forever
or if she has to return to earth
to this dry, parched matter
she wants
only to feel that which gives life –
that which lives beneath the surfaces
we touch
Unraveled and the Birth of Joy 