Healing Steps
Bare feet touch cold earth,
the ground unfamiliar,
a silent witness to the weight
of what was lost.
Fingers grip the wooden rail,
each breath a slow, steady inhale,
muscles remembering rhythm
of a body that once ran.
The air tastes of renewal,
the sun a quiet observer,
of this fragile rebirth
a seed breaking through stone.
Each step is a question,
each step is a promise,
a quiet defiance of the dark
that once held me down.
And with every faltering move,
the earth cradles my soul,
whispers, "You are not broken, Zen
only mended in time."
The path ahead is unclear,
but with every step,
I reclaim the space between
what was and what will be.
(Actual x-ray image of my feet)
@ZenArashi One deep-minded poem, to which a lot of us can relate. I love it (:
@helianthus19
Thank you for your kind words, Helianthus 💜💙
@ZenArashi I simply know you have what it takes to relearn your body to be able to run again someday in the near future!
I am rooting for you Zen!
@FuzzySimba
Thank you so much for the roaring support. I appreciate it so much.
@ZenArashi
You continue to astound me with your unbreakable resilience, and your poem gives it the most direct voice. There is no search for pity nor wringing of hands for what you must endure. Instead you give us quiet and implacable strength that builds up softly but inexorably. Stanza 3 feels like the most perfect expression of this; the image of growth and renewal is so powerful. One can feel the steady pressure building and building with each new effort, until eventually not even resolute stone can contain you.
Nor is this the braggadocios vanity of one who has achieved, but rather the quietly spoken conviction of a person determined to succeed. It recognises the difficulties, the "defiance of the dark" and "faltering move", and it speaks of patience.
I thought it was very lovely, and I thought the last stanza was wonderfully understated. ZenArashi, I salute you.
Now hopefully, with time and your ongoing efforts, not only will your recovery go as anticipated, but you will also be able to use those pins in your heels like wolverine-esque cleats and be able to scale buildings or outrun cheetahs on firm to middling ground.
@BastionKnight
Forgive my tardiness in replying to this feedback. I’ve been feeling under the weather lately. As always, I’m awestruck by the your comments. Wolverine who? Lol 😂 I'll be ready to take on skyscrapers and outrun wildlife in no time. 😆
@ZenArashi
Hope you feel better soon. Lots o' rest and pampering yourself; it is the universal panacea!