I separated myself
from the acceleration,
escaped the vortex
with just a wobble at the lip of it,
then floated free and still —
only in the reflection on it
amazed by where I might have ended up
if I had wandered
just a little closer

I did not join that battle.
But now I am collecting
a more pervasive calm,
a positive peace,
a zone that extends its power
even to where everything
dropped down before,
even where all was lost
because everyone is needed
and no one, ultimately
can be swept away.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 15, 2015