WE ARE ALL ONE

I remember using scenarios
from my life and other's experience
to help me remember
we are all one

I remember being so alone
by myself with no social peers all summer
that I tried to tell her I loved her
I even coded my request for a date with a weather metaphor

I remember running so hard uphill
with my team, and feeling a pain
in my side that made me want to stop
it made me feel like I was alone even with others nearby

I remember celebrating my birthday without
my friend who was supposed to come with
but she got in trouble last night
I asked my dad to pray so that her dad would delay the punishment

I remember having to dedicate my day to driving my kids
from one place to another
from eating to shopping
even if it meant driving in conditions I despise (traffic on a busy highway)

I remember getting ready for my grandmother's birthday party
we didn't know how much longer she would be
walking this earth, but it was the first time
I had hoped she would be free from pain
but dreaded us being free from her

I remember going to the beach
on that day where the frigid Atlantic warmed
to our presence and gave us a mid-seventy degree welcome
I never thought I could submerge my body in those waters

I remember, as a parent, the tension between
making a space for myself to be centered
saying mantras or meditating
and making space for my kids
to make sure they were centered
and felt safe and taken care of

I remember walking away from poetry
for so many months and having friends
and family ask me when I would return
I remember pretending like a love
for poetry could ever leave

midjourney prompt: "a cosmic array, we are all one, unity among all consciousness, loving everyone, galactic connection, watercolor style, --ar 3:1 --seed 31174"