by Sol Riou
Lying, I
among the tree litter,
feeling the moist earth beneath me.
Rain lightly blessing my face, my shoulders,
my brown brittle body
is drenched in life’s abundance.
Basking in this moment, I exclaim
“Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness!”
Billowing gusts
tussle the half-naked maple above,
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by Sol Riou
Lying, I
among the tree litter,
feeling the moist earth beneath me.
Rain lightly blessing my face, my shoulders,
my brown brittle body
is drenched in life’s abundance.
Basking in this moment, I exclaim
“Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness!”
Billowing gusts
tussle the half-naked maple above,
other leaves still clinging to what they know,
the narrow branches of their birth.
Their ignorance of change, falling, the unknown,
brings me aversion, then yields to
understanding in this moment, I exclaim
“Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness!”
Hands gathering
a bouquet of them,
Scarlet, who annoyed me,
Goldie, who chastened me,
Tapestry, who humbled me.
Memories of months mutually manufacturing chlorophyll,
forgiving in this moment, I exclaim
“Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness!
Knowing home,
feet press me deeply into My Mother,
fine grains of humus and sand.
No longer bound by self,
my ancestors welcome me.
Transcending in this moment, with love I exclaim
“Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness! Oh, my happiness!”
Sol Riou, Compassionate Understanding of the Heart, lives in Tacoma, Washington, and practices with the Peaceful Heart Sangha in Tacoma and the Mindfulness Community of the Puget Sound in Seattle. She is passionate about sharing mindfulness practices with children, teachers, and parents in public schools, and with groups and individuals in community mental health services.
