Mercy Tolentino Steenwyk

“On a gentle slope
You cling
Amidst
Grass, rocks
And suspended time
I saw you resting
A smile
Upon your face
Eyes searching
To catch
The many prisms
Of the gaiety in the sun
You smile fully
As you play
The rays slicing
Through
The warmth
The scorching heat
That makes you
Scream.

With this blinding light
You dig deeper
Clenching rocks
Every grain in this
This brown earth
Caught in a whisper
Nurtured in your belly
That only the sun
Can know.

You bare your face
To touch
To catch
The secrets
Floating in the wind.

Your roots
Cling so deep
As you partake
In the rhythm
Of the murmurings
About
The birds, the bees
The scampering squirrels
The sneaky hawks
Gliding by
This is the sway
Of the restless dance
Half the secret
Of butterflies astray.

For every story told
Around
Is your strength
Wisdom to grow
As you reach out
To the heavens
In a perpetual
Bow of gratitude
Every arch
Every arc
A completion
This silent beauty.”