I feel : I hear : I taste : Awake to life

I feel the soft whisper of air on skin

As I hold my morning coffee

I feel the warm comfort of the cup

As I taste the frothy chocolately sweetness of the foam

Passing nearby I hear

Retreating steps clickety clacking their concertina stacato

Along a pavement dusted with autumn leaves

As I taste the sweet doughy softness of a cinnamon donut

And relish each mouthful with intention

I watch children running past

In excited jubliation and anticipation of a holiday film

As I hear the noise of passing truck

I think how lovely it feels to be present in my body

I write as a poet must

Not only out of choice but out of necessity

I feel gratitude for the gifts of a day

That for so many years it was impossible

To fully see, hear, feel or touch in a body

Awake to life

(one of the most painful consequences of PTSD or Complex PTSD is a dissociation from the sensations in our body… coming to notice and bear with sensation and accepting our human body as feeling and alive in the midst of a fully sensate world we so often could not control is a sign of healing and repair)