Doris Lynch

Metamorphoses at Midnight

Step outside tonight and let the darkness enfold you. Stand where you can reach the closest stars and know someday the farther ones will be yours to cup as well. Romance the rising half-moon. Watch her become a pearl lantern, glow-opening the world.

Follow a sawdust path into the woods. Pause to listen. Several voices speak to you: they clamor for recognition, response. Let the wind lead you. Don’t be swayed by the dancing fallen leaves, like any acolyte, become as will o’ the wisp as they. See apples on the bough? What does your body need to become one? Experience the fruit, its firmness, rotundity. Remember breathing can always bridge the distance between you. Think color and stillness as the owl watches your transformation from its high perch. Exude the scent of McIntosh, let the umbilical stalk fall. It’s time is now. As with any meditation, trace your way back. Slowly inhabit your almost familiar body.

still sending light         dead stars

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About the Author

Doris Lynch has been writing haibun for over 10 years. Her work has appeared in Haibun Today, cho, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, and FemkuMag, among others. She also writes in longer forms.