Surrender

By Caroline Reddy

I want to see serenity in our eyes 
as we explore our souls 
so that I don’t have to retreat 
when the amber leaves fall…

the Eastward wind is swift
lifting up the hems of a purple 
bohemian skirt and 
I remembered all the losses
the stairs and 
the smell of death—
I collapse to the floor for
those neuron memories trail off...

I clutch the beige ruffle carpet and 
watch the paisley designs play across cloudy eyes.

I want to continue to expand into the wilderness 
and hike through Buttermilk Falls: 

see the rattlesnake shed its skin
underneath the bare branches
as the elders around us undress time
releasing the whiskey breath  
into the ether,
and the torn tent
can slip out of my heart.

Let’s exhale into this moment
since the wedding bells were wiped
off of the palms of my hand
with fresh henna:
and surrender our storms
as we drum in unison on the fallen trunk.

Caroline Reddy is a versatile writer whose poetry has been accepted and published in Active Muse, Braided Way, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, Clinch, and Star*Liine, among others.  In the fall of 2021, her poem A Sacred Dance was nominated for Best of The Net prize by Active Muse. A native of Shiraz, Iran Caroline is working on a collection of poems titled Star Being, which chronicles the life of a Starseed on earth.