With an orange and turquoise sky I contemplated nature’s beauty.
The horizon was broken up by billowing thunderheads -
light catchers spreading across the sky.
It's fire reflected off the dark waters of the lake;
the birds grew quiet and the dog stood by my side.
How lucky I am to see this, to witness so much beauty.
How lucky I am to be alive. And then I wondered:
What right do I have to enjoy life?
The anger swelled: I saw death, disease, starvation, blood and gore.
Screaming inside my head at those that burdened me with this gift -
this gift of happiness, of pleasure, of love.
And just like that I saw the guilt.
Now the sky was turning purple and in my heart I whispered
“I have a right to this life.”
When the tears blurred my vision I turned my back to the west
and waited for my lunacy.

Standing with one foot in the door
and one foot out, I saw the moons light rising up.
Its luminosity reflected gray, like the power of cold steel.
Within my heart I felt the calmness;
lulled by natures sense of perfect rhythm.
And in my cells I felt a tug; a primordial memory,
strumming a metrical tune. And in my head I felt it;
love, love, love. It was inside, outside, positive, negative,
attraction, distraction, good, bad, yin, yang. Harmony, understanding, peace.
And as the moons glow reflected off my face,
the light cried out loud.

Copyright © 2004 Sara Coslett