This peaceful valley is waking up
turning its cool dewy cheek
towards the sun
I didn’t know I was beautiful
until the age spots and the wrinkles came
my thin and brittle feet
hurt inside my boots,
but still they carry me from here
to the beach and back
Glaciers cleave
their solid blue hearts
laid bare—
obscene—
for the world to see
All while the hard waves pound against
this fragile point of land
the one I taught my children to love
sand shifting under me
water rising
tears pent up for too long
break through, roll down
two hot rivers
searing the paths they take
What can I do with this
faithless and oceanic love?
My strong and steady grandmother
sits beside me now
she says,
mop the salt water from your face
stoke the fire
start a nice pot of soup cooking for supper
sweep the front porch,
even though the wind will come up later
then, sit still—
let your grandchildren’s
unguarded questions break your heart
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Colleen West is a psychotherapist by day and a writer by night. She is fascinated with the workings of the human mind and heart against a backdrop of a rapidly changing global landscape. She co-authored Understanding Trauma: an illustrated guide for people facing childhood trauma in 2018. She is working on an illustrated guide for survivors of sexual assault in India, as well as her first volume of poetry. She lives in El Cerrito, California with her beloved husband and her beautiful but recalcitrant dog Sky.