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Ash Mudd

@mudd_ash

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Cultivate and Inspire🌀
#transisbeautiful
🌱⛰🌊📸🎨✍️
Witness. Explorer. Interpreter. Storyteller.

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I tried the pumpkin stew. Made my own recipe of flavors, veggies, meat, and it did not disappoint, for my first time. I very much enjoyed it and can’t wait to do it again with some adjustments. I highly recommend it, my friends. Happy fall, and happy eating! by @mudd_ash

The Long Way Up

I remember taking US 6th West,
Blue skies and huge white clouds,
Windows down and singing without thinking.

The road pulling me out of Golden
And into the narrowing canyon,
Where Clear Creek flashed beside me,
White water shouldering the car,
Evergreens rising like sudden walls
That seemed most alive.

I felt alive.

I look in the rearview mirror.

There you were,
In your place in the back seat,
The best dog in the world.

The tunnels came one after another,
Cut straight through the rock like old intentions.

Tunnel one swallowing my voice
Tunnel two spat me back into the sun.

Each curve leaned upward.
The canyon tightened.
The air cooled
As the foothills gave way
To real mountains.

Past Idaho Springs,
The climb sharpened,
The highway tilting toward the sky,
Switchbacks stacking themselves
Like thoughts I hadn’t sorted yet.

I left the interstate behind,
Choosing the long way up
The road the wanderers knew
The road that had no need of an ending.
Higher still,
The world thinned.

And every time I glanced
At the mirror,
You were there.

Aspens flickered like coins in the wind.
The peaks gathered before us,
Paitent and enormous.

The grade steepened.
The turns tightened.
The road kept lifting us
Into the mountains.

And somewhere up there,
We would stop.

Anywhere.

We would step out
Into the cool, thin air,
And the day would open around us.

No destination.
No reason to hurry.

Just the mountains,
The long way home,
And you beside me
As you always were,
Ready for whatever
Came next.

These days,
The reflection in the rearview mirror
Just isn’t the same.

#poetry #writer #writersofinstagram #loverofwords #doglovers by @mudd_ash

I Returned To The Place is a poem that follows a previous work titled Where I Left My Shoes (you can find it posted on my page). It is about coming back, and I hope you enjoy it.

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#poetry #loverofwords #writer #writerscommunity #fullcircle by @mudd_ash

I may come back and add a caption but for now, I hope you enjoy this latest poem of mine.

Title: I Can Only Hope

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#poetry #loverofwords #poetrycommunity #writer #healingjourney by @mudd_ash

I Am Home

As I stand at the shore,
my feet sinking
into the ocean-soaked sand,
the green mountain
rising behind me,
the ocean stretching
as far as my eyes can see,
the sun surrendering
to the horizon.

And in the air
smoked BBQ,
plumeria,
sea salt
three worlds of scent
dancing together
in the evening breeze.

The laughter of keiki.
The rhythm of breaking waves.

The unmistakable sound
of a heart beating
inside my chest.

And then
the tears.

Not from sadness.

From the overwhelming fullness
of being exactly where
I am meant to be.

Abundance.
Gratitude.
Home.

And suddenly,
there is nothing else
to hear within me
but three words:
I am home.

I stretch my arms wide,
as though my hands
could reach around the ocean,
as though I could gather
this entire moment
into my arms
and never let it go.

My heart is full.
My smile is full.

I speak words of praise.
Words of gratitude.

And somewhere deeper than words,
something answers.

Quietly.
Completely.

Remember this feeling.

So I let my arms fall
gently to my sides.

I turn my gaze
from the endless horizon
to the surface of the water
rippling before me.

I smile.
I breathe.

I take one last reflective look
at the place that somehow
feels like a part of me.

And then
I walk toward
the waiting waves.
-
#poetry #writer #poetrycommunity #ocean #loverofwords by @mudd_ash

Explain

Maybe one day

Someone will understand me The way I understand the plants The way I understand the waves The way I understand the wind

In an unspoken language Yet somehow Fully understood

Like roots beneath the soil Knowing where to reach Without ever being told

Like the ocean Knowing the moon Without ever asking why

Fully accepted Completely loved

Without condition
Fully forgiven For past transgressions

Where neither one Asks the other To be loved differently

I find myself wishing I didn’t ask for more
I wish I wanted less Needed less

I wish I needed nothing To be content

Like the rain
That never asks the tree  To prove it is thirsty

Like the earth That accepts the fallen leaves Without asking them Why they had to let go

I wish I needed less Attention Less appreciation Less reassurance

So I could feel wanted Without having to ask

Loved Without having to wonder

Sometimes I think If I could just need less I would hurt less

But even a forest Does not grow alone

Roots reach for roots Branches make room for branches And even the strongest trees Need the light

It’s not enough To love myself

Not when I have chosen To share my life With someone else

Because loving myself Does not mean I no longer need to be loved

I still want to be seen

To be understood Without having to explain

To be chosen Without having to ask

To be held Like a shoreline holds the sea Never trying to keep it Only giving it somewhere To return to

I don’t want to be less So someone else Can love me more easily

I don’t want to become A quieter version of myself Just to make the room More comfortable

I want to be weather And wildness And stillness

I want to be known The way the wind knows the trees By the way they bend

The way the ocean knows the shore By everything it leaves behind

The way a seed knows There is something waiting For it beneath the darkness

I want to be met

Not halfway

But somewhere in the middle

Where neither of us Has to become less To make room For the other

Where love is not a measure Of how little we can need
(Finished in comments) by @mudd_ash

It’s going to be okay

The power of
“It’s okay”

Is not the words alone,
But the hand resting
Gently on your lap.

The hand upon your back,
A quiet reminder
That you are not alone.

The gentle gaze
That meets your eyes
And does not look away.

The soft, steady voice
That somehow finds you
When you have become lost
Inside yourself.

And brings you back.

Grounded.
Held.
Protected.

When everything feels uncertain,
When the darkness
Has made you forget
Which way is home,

She does not need
To have all the answers.

She simply reaches out

And with the wisdom
Of the divine feminine,
She reaches into
Your heart

And reminds you
That strength
Does not always mean
Standing alone.

Sometimes strength
Is allowing yourself
To be held.

Sometimes healing
Is simply hearing
The voice of someone
Who loves you say,

“It’s okay”

And for a moment
The darkness becomes softer.

The ground beneath you
Becomes steady again.

And you breathe.

Because she is there.

And somehow,
In the gentleness
Of her voice,

You remember

It is all going to be okay.
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This poem is dedicated to all the sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins and friends who are a guiding light to those they love, but especially to my sister in law @angelamama3 ♥️ to be carrying your own pain and still have so much love to give is a true inspiration, I am blessed and grateful to walk beside you on this journey.
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#poetry #poetrycommunity #writer by @mudd_ash

I Never Feel Alone When the Wind Blows

I never feel alone when the wind blows.
I especially like when it swirls
All around me,
Covering me like an invisible blanket,
Holding me,
Speaking to me
Not in words,
But a language
I still understand.

I’ve always found it fascinating
How the wind moving through
The trees and land
Sounds so similar
To the waves moving through
Water and air,
Crashing upon the shore.

And how, too
When I am in the water
Covered by river, lake, or sea
I am fully held,
Loved,
Protected,
Spoken to
In a language
We both
Fully
Understand.

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#poetry #writer #poetrycommunity by @mudd_ash

Fall

Every once in a while, at the very top of a tree, a leaf will fall.

Where once it lived at the highest point, receiving optimal sun and wind, always the first to feel the rain.

Now falling, tumbling, maybe alone or maybe with many more, nonetheless it was always destined to be.

The forest floor is dark and cold, unfamiliar and busy with strangers.

The sunlight is far away now.
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#poetry #writer #loverofwords #poetrycommunity by @mudd_ash

Love Me

My feelings and concerns
Are not threats,
Not arguments
Meant to make you raise your sword.

I come to you
With my heart in my hands,
Not with blades drawn.

I am a poet.

So speak to me gently.
Meet me with tenderness.

Love me

The way the moon loves the sun.

She carries his light
Across the darkest hours.

As I love you like the sun loves the moon.

He returns each morning,
Faithful as breath,

To find her again.
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#poetry #writer #loverofwords by @mudd_ash

No Great Soul Was Ever Forged

No great soul
Was ever forged
Beneath borrowed skin,

Or by hiding
The truth
Of its sacred being.

You

Born of breath
And starlight,

Carrying a name
No one else
Could have answered to.

Like frost
Gathering at first light,
The divine
Left its fingerprint
Upon you.

Your beauty
Is not what the eye remembers,

But what the heart
Cannot forget.

Ancient
As river stone,

Quietly shaped
By everything
That tried
To change it.

Like water,

You remember

That even stone
Yields to gentleness,

Given enough time.

You move
Not because
The world permits it,

But because
It is your nature
To keep becoming.

Like fire,

You know

That every forest
Carries tomorrow’s seeds

Beneath today’s ash.
You do not fear
The burning.

You trust
What survives it.

Like stars,

You never argued
With the night.

You simply became

Another reason
It was beautiful.

Hold this close.

You were never asked
To become
Someone worthy
Of love.

Only
Someone willing
To remember
What your soul
Has always known

That you are loved,

Not because
You have earned it,

But because
You are,

And because

Love
Has always
Known your name.
-
#poetry #writer #loverofwords by @mudd_ash

Another trip around the sun.

💫

One part of me longs to create, to love openly, and to leave the world a little brighter than I found it. The other is forever searching beneath the surface; drawn to quiet places, honest conversations, and the hidden threads that connect us to each other and to the natural world.
I’ve learned that these aren’t opposing forces. They are the same heart expressed in different ways. The Leo in me reminds me to shine without apology. The Scorpio in me reminds me that the brightest light is one that has not been afraid of the dark.
This past year has changed me. It has asked me to let go of certainty, to trust transformation, and to find strength not in having all the answers, but in remaining open to becoming.
As I begin another year, I hope to create more than I consume, love more deeply than I fear, and stay curious enough to keep discovering the wonder hidden in ordinary moments.
Here’s to another year of becoming.
☀️🦂
Where the Sun and Moon Meet feels like the perfect reminder that we are rarely just one thing. We are both fire and water, light and shadow, courage and depth—and somewhere between them, we become ourselves.

If this past year has taught me anything, it’s that we don’t have to choose between the light that helps us grow and the darkness that helps us understand. Somewhere between the two, we become who we were always meant to be.
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#birthday #becoming #poetry #writer by @mudd_ash