I stand beside, with,
along, along – the verticality
extends above, beneath,
with no end I can see,
an estimation of infinity

I touch the current,
above, behind my shoulder,
reach as for a subway strap,
step back into it, and race
up and down and up
within the current

And now define myself as this,
see that the story
of small unlikely glints of glory,
peaking through a mostly mindless structure,
was never what  defined me

No. This is where I understand
everything about myself –
size and shape and purpose,
sphere of harmony,
ribbon of peace.

©Wendy Mulhern
November 11, 2023