six month soul return

rattles roll over relaxed body
the beating of the drum
reverberates in forehead
while heart sinks into rhythm

soul retrieval pulls us
like fine silver thread
down into the dungeon
those times when soul

fragments had been lost- gone
drifting as sludge through rivers
winding, wailing-- away from it's
home-safe habour's bell unheard

six month soul, how cruel to leave
just when crawling was to be learned;
eyes that shone at birth filled with clouds
then brighten at soul's fond arrival

baby born to lead makes
an inauthentic follower
frozen soul so longs to light
the path for others- october leaves

sweeping, softening the harshness
afternoon light lures baby into dreamtime
terrors, tenacious fox licking his chops
we paint a sun in the top right hand corner

ancestral song pulls up the thick blankets
while laying down, baby's soul comes flying
through the ether--through knotty pines
and braided flowers-once again to meet

her safe harboured heart-
appetite dissapated; she is coming home
to peaceful waters, waxing moon beams
housing harmony in cedar strength

cries, like dancing butterflies
never last too long; part of
the birthing song--reverberating
notes, sealing the soul as sage

bundles tied loosely in green
thread; dried herbs smelling
of the earth we walk upon-
as one baby's soul returned


Kate Lamberg
2/25/12