Lisa O'Neil Guerci

<3 years ago>

Every passing day
contains keys,
secret codes,
pieces of the great cosmic puzzle
of rebirth and yes,
death.

Yesterday is already a memory
even as I drag my toes through it-
feeling the grit
of painful reality.

This is not
as morbid a thought
as might appear
on the face of it.

There can be
a kind of comfort found
in the acceptance of mortality;

each moment brief,
a relief,
a bird of thought
aligned with my beliefs,
landing with the lightest touch
upon my shoulder,
to just as quickly fly away
as I grow inevitably older.

I think now
of that which stays~
the things time insists on changing
yet never takes away

various loves that come and go
in different iterations and shapes
as I dodge the days latest blows
and learn from my mistakes.

Then the fresh newness
of morning arrives,
and I again welcome the continuum
and endeavor
despite obstacles,
to do more than merely survive.

A new day invites me in
to sit and reflect from within
on what it means to let go,
to move on-

to rest and reflect,
to take a deep breath,
and continue to explore
the unknown mysteries
embedded in life's
strange ongoing journey-

a gracious invitation
to embrace the blessings
those both seen
and still hidden

while there is still time left yet.

Lisa O'Neil-Guerci
<to shake off yesterday>
10/8/2023

art by Catherine Hyde