HELLEBORE

by Kelly White Arnold
                                                                       

Today I strike out,
Today I set forth
under a clearing snow-sky
into a landscape of white.
Today I begin.
Each tree stands in
knife-sharp contrast
against the dawning
blue of the heavens,
thrusting up from the soil
that birthed it,
reaching skyward.
Today I grow,
cold air awakening senses,
quickening pulse.
Today I let go–
realizing that affect
is more precious than object,
that nothing is mine to control.
Today,
in the dead of winter,
amid the ashes of Christmas,
in the wake of a blizzard,
Today I bloom. 


* * * * *

"Hellebore" was previously published in the Old Mountain Press anthology To All A Good Night.

Kelly White Arnold is a mom, writer, high school English teacher, and lover of yoga. When she's not scribbling in notebooks or wrangling teenagers, she's planning her next tattoo and daydreaming about traveling the world.