I used to write poems
because of the pain.
Sometimes I still do.
But now life flows more gently
I write to savor the beauty.

Sometimes the pain bursts in
like lightning from a distant storm.
I watch through memory's window
pull on a sweater
and thank God for being safe inside.

Now poetry is like singing in a choir
I feel the voices resonate around me
and sway and clap to the rhythm
and let the tones rise, the words move
from my heart, my lungs, my throat, my mouth.

The music holds me.
I move within it.
I've found my part.
It's like a safe house
that God built for me.