The Center of Your Soul
By
Jennifer Angelina Petro
You needn’t worry summer is stepping back;
You needn’t do the same; inside
Spirit has been gathering
Embers of the sun and the harvest moon
And placed them in the hearth of your soul;
As winter’s shift trundles over
The hillside and drapes itself
Over eaves and shutters, the space
Around the chimneys remains
Warm and where winter birds roost
To shake the frost from their wings;
Summer will always be there surrounded
By springtime in the center
Of who you are—there will always be warmth—
Now work—pretend you didn’t hear what I just said—
Go–collect the kindling of your desires,
Rake the dry leaves of your disappointments
And heap them together with whatever
Things you didn’t do this summer
And set them on fire; there is wood
A plenty in the forest of your worries—
It is there for a reason—you are
Not harming anyone or anything
When you illume the soul—winter silences
Autumn’s dazzling carnival, autumn
Diminishes summer’s return, and spring—
That fragrant season of dew-dappled light
Lives forever by the force of your own will
Coupled with mercy from heaven
In the center of your soul.