Everything here
Begins as a loving embrace
Of itself.

Look around:
The skunk cabbage
The wild carrot
The daisy
The milk pod
The water lily

Also the Canada geese
Curled tight once in their shells
The butterflies
And the muskrat and beaver
Inside their warm mothers

You and I
We began that way,
Too.

The same is true
When we begin again:

A few steps
Perhaps flight
Perhaps a swim
Perhaps standing still--
Our faces in the sun
For as long as the sun
Will shine.

You love yourself,
You love the world.

It is the only way.

One Single Impression