Transition
I’m standing in ashes
Searching the sky for smoke
It’s time to move on
I’m looking for the next fire
For me it has always been fire
Flames that have called to me
Burned me, moved me
Dragged me from my inert slumbers
Fires of passion, creative fire
Fires that have destroyed
Fires that have transformed
Fires I have had to put out
Older now and worn
I stand here in the ashes
Of all my many tended fires
I see new growth, strong roots, decay
All with a life of its own
I am finished here
As I raise my tired eyes to the horizon
Searching again the sky for smoke
Quite unexpectedly
I smell the sea
The ageless, cleansing
Limitless, forgiving
Folding and unfolding sea
The Roar
He lies next to his wife
A woman he half loves
In a hotel room near an airport
It could be any hotel near any airport
He could be any man
Who loves with half his heart
Who shuffles like a shadow
Who speaks in half truths
And lives a life
That happened to him
Sometime after midnight
A mistaken stranger
With his room numbers confused
Rattles the door handle of the man’s room
While attempting to insert a key
Perhaps it is the intensity of the fear
In his half sleeping state that opens the gate
Perhaps it is grace
But the man in the bed begins to roar
It is a huge and chilling roar
The man is shocked at himself
But he cannot stop it
The roar has entered his body
Through his pelvic floor
It lifts him out of the bed
Onto his feet
Twists him slightly
Flings back his head
Stretches open his jaw
Grabs hold of his tongue
It is wild deep animal sound
The air around him quickens
And becomes red hot
The room begins to quiver
The stranger is frightened off
The woman is terrified
And the roar continues
The sound that had lifted him up
Now takes him down
He has to crawl on his belly
Through the vibrating tunnel of this roar
That is ripping open his chest
He didn’t create the roar
But it is moving through him now
And somewhere in the midst
Of this ancient pulsating sound
Emanating from his mouth
He commits to it
He lets the roar define him
When it is finished
The man and the woman
Lie back on the bed
Silent and stunned
Finally he laughs
Then she laughs
A laughter that leaps and guffaws
A free laughter
A loud laughter
A laughter they have never shared
They laugh themselves breathless
When he returns home from the airport
The next afternoon
It is gray and drizzling
He takes off his shoes
And walks barefoot into the garden
His feet sink into the damp earth
He crouches down
And digs his hands into the mud as well
Inside, his body is still vibrating
From the sound of the roar
His throat opens again
This time the sound is softer
A slow deep solid moan
The moan of a man
Who has just given birth to himself
Woman Alive
One spring day
Early in the morning
In the middle of her life
She knew it was time
She opened the front door
With a great deal of fear
A lifetime ago
She had been stoned
And then burned
For the very thing
She was about to do
She stepped out on her front porch
With no clothing or covering of any kind
Sat down on the cool stones
And opened her legs
Revealing the center point
Of earthly pleasure
And the power source of all new birth
As she warmed herself
In the rising sun
Her throat opened as well
And the tone she sounded
Was dark, deep, ancient
And true
People began to pass by
Many never noticed her
Nor could they hear her voice
Their eyes were focused
On their own roads
Others shouted at her
Shaming, degrading, accusing
Threatening to destroy
But she kept her rage in front of her
Her grief alive inside her
And none of them came near
Others were called – drawn to her
They heard her sound from across town
When they saw her sitting there
So open and so brave
They smiled so deeply
Their faces were changed forever
At the end of the day
She was still alive
She stood then in the moonlight
Tears streaming from her eyes
Moistening, strengthening
Her breasts, her belly, her feet
Stronger now
And safe enough
She opened her arms
Her heart wide
She became
A living, breathing prayer
Kim Falone has an extensive background in the healing arts. A licensed bodyworker since 1986, she and her husband Vince are the founders of the Center for Relaxation and Healing in Chatham, New Jersey. For further information on Kim’s writing or healing work, please visit www.kimfalone.com
