Part One

Home Building:

Collect small bits of string
twigs, and burrs,
the hairs from a wild cat’s tail,
a few needles of pine.
String tiny beads of light
along the spines of dandelions.

Pause to consider
your collection.

What’s missing?
Some extra ingredient needed?
Mix that into the fold.

Weave together these
fragments of life.

Spin them into a shape
precise enough to
fit the hole in your
heart.

Stitch them into
the empty space,
piecing your Self
back to whole.

Repeat as needed
until your heart
is an undeniable reflection
of who you are.

Part Two

Release the ballast.
With mended heart,
free yourself from
what keeps you
tethered to a place
you no longer belong.

Wander in your great
balloon. Watching
worlds unroll below.

Like any good captain,
keep spyglass at hand
for you are seeking.

Take note of the
contour of certain
valleys, depth of lakes,
and shadows cast by mountains.

Ask only, “Does this
topography suit me?”

Touch down when
the newly patched
hole in your heart
begins to sing –
thready and faint
at first, ripening into
rich crescendo when
the time to pause
arrives.

Stay awhile.

Gather wisdom like
ripe berries from the vine.

Take what you need and sail on.

Navigating life as if home lives in your pockets,
portable and forever at your side.

previously published on The Urban Howl, November 2016

Shannon Crossman learned the hard way that untapped creative energy casts a helluva shadow, so she crafts her sanity with her hands daily. Nothing excites (or frustrates) her more than a blank page, fresh ball of yarn, or pile of foodstuffs – all waiting to be transformed into bits of deliciousness. Words are, and have always been, her way back home. She is a writer, artist, technical wizard, public speaker, witch, priestess, gluten free baker, time-bender, and COO who happens to possess a degree in Transpersonal & Somatic Psychology. She’s a mama and grandma to a gaggle of wild girls who make her heart happy. When she’s out in the business world she’s figuring out how to make things faster, more efficient, and automating the hell out automating the hell out of sh*t. Shannon still believes in magic, craves the ocean like a land-locked mermaid, and dreams of a life without shoes.