Letting go...

It knocked the wind right out of me.
A mile through the woods,
and I still couldn’t catch my breath.
If I’d eaten breakfast,
I would have been puking, too.
A couple more good hills and I gathered myself,
though perhaps gathered is not the right word.
A couple more good hills,
and I emerged from my gut,
into my awareness, grounding a bit.

The grace of the trees,
the humility of stone,
the presence of the insects,
the constancy of water,
the knowing of the sky,
the wisdom of the sun -
- all these kept me
from coming undone.

We are all but still one,
one, but still all.
Perhaps when I lose you,
I somehow gain me.