Introspection

My emotions live at the heart of me,

they remind me constantly

of my vulnerable humanity

There is a well of sadness I fall into sometimes

especially at dusk

it speaks of ancestral memories

and also of

precious moments,

lovely times we shared

close to dusk,

near to the weeping willow

preparing a meal

being a part of a family for the first time

in so many years

I did not know then,

how many lonely nights were to follow

and yet solitude also came with gifts :

a place to be,

and breathe,

and feel my heart

and even feeling cut by the pain

reminded me I was alive

and still breathing

Tonight I read the words

in which you said

facing these memories does not mean

we are living the past

for truly we experience them in the

present

and the present moment

is most truly

just an unfolding succession of moments

in which we experience

being alive

with all of the human emotions

others so often claim

are nothing but,

an aberration

when really to me they speak

of being alive

as an animated soul

capable not of self rejection

but rather

of experiencing the healing power

of introspection.