I am not only a moment,
I am all the moments that were, that are, and will be,
I transcend these three to somewhere…
something of a beautiful and spiritual dimension we all know.
The way the bitternut hickory greens as it sings in the beginning of the March season, brings me its peace;
and as the ocean rises and falls, my soul moves along with her,
because we have known each other before I was born.
Each ascending sunrise followed by the descending sunset, with distinct coalesced shades;
The insects that bring life to these plants,
These plants that bring life to me
Beautiful cycle of humanity, this is the constitution of my anatomy.
The motion of these waves I stand before, are the reason for my heartbeat,
The gentle air hugging my body whispers oxygen to my lungs,
and I listen to this oxygen move swiftly down the path they’ve made, and I think:
“How beautifully elegant.”
Thoreau has become a part of me;
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity,” these simple things are of me.
The laughter of my mother,
Ambition of my father,
The awe-filled defiant natures of my brother and sister
each are inscribed on the neurons transmitted throughout my body,
They come to make their home and color my DNA.
The reflection I see of myself
shows Saturn’s rings circulating this body of mine in all of its glory,
Pluto’s newfound majesty in my own eyes,
And stardust exhaling like a cloud from my breath.
I am Water that keeps me live,
I am Fire that burns deep,
I am Earth that reminds me of my composition,
I am Air I inhale,
In all moments, I am.
Inspired by Walt Whitman’s poem: There was a Child went Forth.
Originally the Grand Champion winner of Walt Whitman Birthplace Poetry Contest (2016).
Nathalie E. Amazan, 2016.