Today I Heard the Wind

Writings from Santa Fe

Part One

by R. Noelle

Today I heard the wind

blowing across the land,

rustling nothing but itself.

I walked through lands 

swept away by flood.

Flattened trees and beach sand

everywhere in the forest.

I climbed into cliffs

sitting in ancient dwellings

like a child, pretending

I was safe in my home.

The calls of goats today

made me shutter,

Their indecent rattling 

turning my insides.

The peacocks slept in their trees.

Small yellow snakes

hopped across pebbles.

A bug fell into my shirt,

never to be found again.

Today I touched the soft 

cheeks of my children.

I searched for the in-between

of guidance and acceptance.

Like every mother who has walked this land,

I am empowered by my purpose.

With every dead and living thing I see,

I am reminded that everything I know

is only a season.

But in my own experience,

in my own short life,

I feel the bloom and fade of the flower

and the rushing power of the wind.

Today as I stand on the

sacred ground of ancient life,

I drop to my knees in gratitude

for this strong heart

for this fragile life.

For more poetry and paintings, please visit www.RNoelle.com