Breathing Stillness

Photo by Will Swann on Unsplash

There is time for stillness
hanging quietly in hungry mouths,
sating thirst
you don’t know you have,
a pool in which
a dropped stone
feels only its own weight
against water,

a yearning for bottom
only satisfied
by touching silt,

a moment outside understanding
outside time
when feet find purchase
tether closely until ready.

My map torn
my bearings skewed
from last known coordinates,

I know only to seek shelter
letting my stone find silt,
until ready to float.

copyright Audrey Howitt April 2021

originally published
Breathing Stillness in Nymphs Spring 2021