by Terry Wolverton

Submit your eyes to the unfolding
textures of pre-dawn light.
Utter the riotous syllables of leaves.
Relinquish regret; scatter ashes to wind.
Run in green spaces; fall in green grass.
Rise up. Run farther.
Enter a continuum of sheer belief.
Do no stray from this spot.
Narrow the aperture through which fear
can enter.
Deepen the hunger for late afternoon rain.
Eavesdrop on the stories stones tell.
Raze the edifice of exceptionalism.

Sanctify each epiphany your fingertips graze.
Embolden the weather of amber and indigo.
Prepare to remain grateful when complaint
is the collective mantra.
Author the face that appears
in the midnight mirror.
Receive the stranger who arrives for tea.
Attune yourself to the message of
lightning strikes.
Tithe a percentage of your dreams to the
sleepless who burn on fevered sheets.
Expose your optimism.
Name your demons; claim these bastard
children and croon them to sleep
with songs of a shimmering world.
Escape the cocoon of your excuses.
Salve the bruises of the disillusioned.
Seed the trembling earth with your
pearled eyeteeth.

* ***
Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.