i.
i remember stealing the pain, the anger from the sea.
falling up through a rift in the sky.

ii.
i remember light hiding behind every flooding cloud,
dark lurking beneath every stormy wave.

iii.
i remember that dark grey day in my childhood when the earth opened up
and all the rain and hurricanes sang low in the fading moon.

iv.
i remember their mocking smiles and scorn when i said i could hear the trees speak,
the willow’s comforting arms wrapping protectively around me when i hid from the laughter.

v.
i remember standing on top of the steep dirt hill, grinning as the serpentine wind told me secrets
that i knew no one else knew, not even the gods; north, south, east, west, and my innocence, my happiness.

vi.
i remember lonely nights when it was just me and the silent moon
and the stars flickered with envy of a mortal child clinging to the unreachable.

vii.
so when you see me falter in step with a gentle smile on my face, eyes closed,
i can hear the winds and elements singing, screaming my name.