When I was three years old
I thought the sky was blue
Because it was my favorite color
When I was five years old
I thought school would be the end of me
Until my brother told me we got to finger paint
When I was seven years old
I was the fastest kid on the soccer team
So my coach told me to never stop running
When I was nine years old
I told my mom I didn't want to turn 10
Because I was afraid of the year 2000
When I was eleven years old
I was the fastest kid in York County
But running was just my part time hobby
When I was thirteen years old
I wrote 40 poems for my 7th grade English class
Unfortunately to date, I can't recall a single one
When I was fifteen years old
I met my mentor in freshman literature
Yet I still believed science was my calling
When I was seventeen years old
I was elected junior class president
It just so happened, there was no one else on the ballot
When I was nineteen years old
I met a friend who wished to walk
And walk and walk through a sea of white blazes
When I was twenty-one years old
I saw pain and suffering in the hearts of my patients
And renewed an old faith that would never fall asleep
When I was twenty three years old
I was given a second chance
And found what being mindful was really all about
When I was twenty five years old
I stumbled upon a farmer
Who would kindly bring me back to my forgotten, poetic soul
And when I was twenty seven years old
I would collapse into a most surprising presence
Who would slow me down
And open my arms
So she could collapse
Inside of me to

Why does it take
two feet walking
or
one heart resting 
to see the world
for its present and humble truth?

Stagnant we sink
wallowing in what if's
the should's 
the could's
Doubting ourselves
for what we have never done
what we aren't doing
and what we will never do 

Where is the freedom
inside this cage?
No matter the size
or the company it keeps

Where is the believer
who sees between the bars?
Even when he can't escape
to be amongst the broken 

The broken
who walk "free"
Eyes blind 
to the desperate prison 
they have created 
For their friends
For their followers 
For themselves 

So for those who are able
Sit
For those who are willing
Stand
For those who are seeking
Walk

Breathing in the blessing
of our most precious gift
Whether in locomotion 
or grounded to the earth 

Hold strong to the present 
for the present 
will always hold strong
to you 

What comes after
the leap
the fall 
the unforeseen flying?

As passion met passion
at the edge unknown
Uncertain for certain
that strength could find ease
and faith would find wings
no matter the breeze

Could they actually see 
there would come a plunge
after the leap
their effortless fall
their desperate defying

Yet, despite their stance
amidst the unrelenting froth
The Halos would pray
to the depths of the Earth
urging the two
to suddenly choose
and finally lose
their idea of an after
for there was only a now
with its hopeful leap
its miraculous fall
its undeniable rising