By Alex Garver
a lone thread tickles the skin
lost, out of alignment, without purpose.
alone, my heart aches for love
confused, scared, collapsed, and angry.
yet woven in their proper place
many single threads
become a beautiful scarf—
rainbow patterns dancing in the light
warming shoulders through the night.
my heart bonds to others like axons
serotonin and oxytocin
passing notes like 7th graders
creating neural networks
capable of remembering us
limb by limb, wound by wound
like Isis loving Osiris
back to life.
We’re dreaming, you know
the dramatic stakes dissolve
upon awakening
to a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
as I long for friends, and they for me
we belong again
the salmon people are restored to their sacred place
amidst the deeper currents of things
and we feel and sing the grief of the trees
intimate once again with earth and water
fire and air
We remember our ancestors
and our origin in the stars.
Today I’m thankful for friends
and Love that cannot fade
that shines through its creations—
so unique and fragile,
bodies separated by space
and dissolved by death.
the challenge and joy of being human
is to love the end of a thing
to fully accept its absence
or potential absence
and love it anyway
like holding a sparrow, open-handed
knowing it will fly away
and appreciating it all the same.
Today I’m thankful for Grandmother
my mom’s of Dutch descent
my Dad’s from Deutschland
for Kaariina from the North
who all come from Mama on high-
center of my being.
thank you
for never leaving my heart
a lone thread
in a cold world.