I like the idea that reimagining oneself, the way we often dream to be new versions of ourselves, going in new directions to pursue new goals. What is there not to like? With one life, you live many, and in ways that could potentially be endlessly enriching. I express this idea with the following poem, using the damselfly as the metaphor for freeing ourselves from our old ways to forge new paths. The thing is to keep flying, pay attention to what’s life-affirming, blend in and be open to belong to all directions.
DAMSELFY
The time has come
for me to eat my history.
It doesn’t matter
what has come to pass,
only that they have passed.
My mind turns and wants to be weightless,
like a damselfly
that beats its wings
upon the seamless air,
never saying no
to blend with the grass,
never holding back
to rise above the earth
letting the wind sweep me
to manifold places
touched by shadows, touched by sun,
wave after wave of potent strength,
grace and light
where once was only shadow,
surge after surge of discovering joy,
where once the heart
was too weighted to be gay
and too small to be single
the way petals and thorns are single.