by Jenna Schifferle
The earth can breathe
On those peaceful serene spring mornings
when the civilized world has yet to wake
just as the dawn is biding her time
you’ll see it. When the sun begins his ascent
and his rays stretch across the water, casting warm light
You can watch the earth’s breath rise
climbing from the mouth of the pond like a lioness
leaping up and dancing about the shoreline
You hear it in the lilies that bloom with splendor,
in the willows that line the water’s edge
branches swaying back and forth
You can hear it if you take the time
a living reminder of where we come from and where we’ll go
a gift from the ancient, ever-beating
always-seeding
heart of the universe
The earth can breathe
Jenna Schifferle is a communications specialist and journalist whose writing has appeared in The Great Lakes Review, In Good Health, The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, Syracuse Woman Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Curvy and Confident, and elsewhere. Click here to visit her website.