Avondale on Hudson
A Sacred Passage
Light filters
silently around me
Sifting through
Spindly branches
Leaves bright with chartreuse
And marigolds that
golden the air with soft velvet ruffles.
Softest beams weave
in and out of long trailing tree limbs and dapple dalmation onto the slatted gray
table before me.
Roughened by time and
weathered by rain and snow and winds the table made of timber is aged yet
solid.
With it linger a
fragrant essence of memories
of gathered laughter,
Restful moments of
contemplation
and joyful circles of
friends
It is late May and
these upper New York woods are rebounding from the harsh trauma of snowy winter
They surround me with
resilience….
Green with vigor….
Lush with families of hopeful younger saplings
A pot of fresh basil,
a planter of pink geraniums and a large lemon on a small tree Gift this cottage
hidden in the woods with wholeness and a wafting fragrance of Fresh beginnings
and newness of life and
The stunning grace of
raw beauty.
Below me a brook
washes through the crevices of rocks and moss and roots clinging to banks and
trunks and shifting silt.
It sings as it
runs…..and in the softest of ways…..peace seeps into my spirit and soul.
Life lives here in
this cottage in the woods.
I study the hope that
surrounds me in this sanctuary of life.
Despite the snow, the
winds, the floods,
These sacred elders
of the plant kingdom resurrect each spring with life
And breath and arms
wide open…..
They have been
created to stand tall
Hosting families of
birds and a thousand other creatures too hidden to see.
They have come before
me, these trees of old
And they will remain
to tell their story long after mine is over.
I am honored to share
this space at
60 Near Road with
them.
This moment of
eternity,
This celebration of
graduation
This merging of two
families who share the goodness of the one they both love….dearly
Katrina.
A soul full of light
and goodness and sensitivity
A soul who fears the
darkness
But
Courageously treads
it anyway.
Intentionally
reaching ever reaching deeply into her spirit,
God’s spirit,
And the spirit of
others.
Ever reaching for the
hands of those she loves
Asking them to go
with her.
To help her to see
what she cannot see.
To help her to be
brave
And to press ever
forward,
She was created with
roots that run deep,
That drink from
streams of living water and cling to good soil.
She was created to
stand tall
With a strong will
For the tearing down
of strongholds of injustice.
And she will….
Use that will to
pierce the darkness with great light.
This is a sacred
passage, at a sacred moment, in a sacred place.
She has weathered the
winter and spring has come again.
Dana Seale
Avondale on Hudson
May 29, 2016
