Genesis 35: In Writing

to return there
stand there
at the place it began
strong as a rising stone

beneath gaping loss
heart's hold
the suckling breast

Rise and return
rise and find
the light that broke for a moment
the trailing warmth
the heavy presence
that said
not alone

Purify from loss
the dross
of vulnerability

trace that path
to come back
where you were
before
to call your name
again
in a new voice

Not in sleep
but wake
the place stark and bare
deeper and heavier
with each reiteration
baring down'
like a beating bird
boring down, down, down
forcing the curled silence
the your long-held death
untimely into the world

You are swallowed
by the fullness of the nothing
you carried within
always arriving
never here
gone the moment i arrive
a fleeting light
dancing down the path
always too dear
for any possession