When I am at the grocery store, I see an older woman in the cracker aisle dancing along to the music
And I am struck dumbfounded by her beauty
I am delighted at the idea of becoming her
Sans makeup, seemingly without worry, still dancing along to the music in public
The lines on her face make her more beautiful
Like the rings spiralling the interior of a magnolia tree
She is every flower on the branch
The goddess puts a pack of wheat crackers into her cart
And returns my beaming smile with a raise of her eyebrows
Because I look like a fucking lunatic
But is love not some form of lunacy?
Be here now in the exalting glow of the infinite light
Bask in the void of everything
Where the all-knowing is goodness
Find it in your counted breaths
And rampant acts of kindness
Do so much good that it consumes your heart
The only direction forward is onto the next selfless act
To our Divine Earth and its creatures
When I take my morning walks and feed the nuthatches
I am one step closer to every version of myself
Yes, even including the crazed bird woman outside in her uggs
And sweatpants at just half past noon
Who, when cars pass, must think she definitely has a loose bolt
But I cherish this old madwoman inside of me
The bog witch gathering sticks for her dead hedge
Is the same girl who moved to New York
I’ll continue to lay flowers before all of the ladies I have been,
The women to come forth within me,
To those of me whom I’ve met
And those of me yet to know
Kathlyn Ramsey Moore 