Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave

Silver Lake, New Hampshire - September 16, 2023

Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave
 

We’re on the fringe of a tropical storm
so I head to the beach
to experience the wind.
Dazzled by the intricate
rhythm of the whitecaps,
I decide that a swim is in order.
I am alone
so I know to take care,
that I have the ability
to do that for me.
I go in just far enough
to be fully afloat.
It takes some time
to adjust to the varied angles
and steepness of the waves.
As I do I feel my
    body enliven,
         energy flow,
                vitality soar.
Eventually it becomes
     a comfortably
                wild dance
                of sky,
                                mountains,
                water,
    and me.
I simply know
                                 when to exert
               or relax
      or adjust.
Wave
upon wave
upon wave.
Rise, settle, scan.
Surge, giggle, smile.
Breathe, notice, allow.
Later, I sit on the beach
as the sun sets
and the winds freshen even more.
My essence pleasantly abuzz,
    I feel
                    calm,
                                    present,
                         grateful,
                safe,
         and free.

    Sarah Carlson
September 23, 2023

Misty Freedom

 Misty Freedom

In moments least expected,
all can be clear and calm.
 Light turns on the darkness.
You are able to close a door
and walk away
with sureness and grace.
Left behind…
a sort of grim energy that was
 flittery and jittery,
lurky and murky,
old and cold.
This opens the way
to acknowledge an
embedded anxiety
that you learned to carry,
push through,
work with,
often turn to good.
Though you mostly understand
 its roots,
you wonder how it could possibly
have had such a grip
of doubt and fear and threat.
Why did you tolerate it?
What could you have done differently?
Should you be angry at those
largely responsible?
Then you begin to notice times
when that tangled anxiety
is absent.
In that absence
you feel presence, stillness, flow.
You settle into your foundation,
sigh into a misty freedom
from the gloom that obscured,
let go of working so hard
 to understand,
and tenderly forgive.

Sarah Carlson
September 14, 2023