I Never Doubted How You Would Rise

We once spoke of ashes, of cinders
left behind in lightning-ravaged woods.
You questioned how you would rise from
your forest floor. 

Would you return as quiet blueberries,
facing what comes with a tart but stoic endurance,
spreading the kind of love that blankets the earth
with quiet nourishment for many?

Or…

Would you leap into the night sky
as a flaming creature of legend, spreading magic wings
in a glorious rebirth fueled by the hottest passions
and a driving need to be seen in awe, to be known,
and to heat a cooled heart that’s been still for too long?

Sometimes, I remember this question
and I wonder if you knew the answer all along.

I think you always knew, in your heart of hearts. 

Surely, you can see it clearly now!
Surely, you can see what I’ve seen since then!

Despite your doubts, I always knew in my heart of hearts:
you’d rise high, beating wings aflame
to illuminate your dark sky and another’s.

December 18, 2025