I start to come up
from where I had fallen,
start to come back
from where I was knocked off center

The first thing is noticing
the sense of separation, and the second
is waiting, like someone just awakened,
for my orientation to return  –
no words in this part,
just an assertion of shape-memory,
gradual and incremental

After that, I am able
to talk about it. And my talking
makes a different kind of sense,
it smooths and soothes
my ruffled consciousness,
it pulls me back to where I know
what and how I orbit,  how I move,
and where my stillness rests.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 11, 2023