Balanced I came into a situation where someone demanded that I be either dark or light, not both. And this was the poem that I wrote after the conversation as my response. Firebird and Angel I can feel my owl wings burning like haloed suns, they light the darkness around me, they set the clouds aflame with the light of the setting sun. I can feel the fire in my stomach rising to scorch my lungs and tinge my heart with passion, and squeeze my soul with delight with the scent of a million applewood fires. Stormhorse and Dryad I can feel the darkness pool within me floating, stillness incarnate to swallow light calmness radiating outward like the rumbling of faroff thunder. I can feel the coolness on my tongue as I swallow and tame my passion into wisdom and loosen chains to let me dance with the streaming of a million windblown tails. Windsinger and Witch I can feel the power wreathing my hands, contending with itself in strangest conflict merging with itself to balance my soul like the flame in the stormclouds at dusk. I can feel spicy mist inhaled from the night and the muted embers of the suntime that set my spirit voice to singing with the harmony of a million varied melodies. © Anne Cross, 1997

Created: November 20, 1997 Last updated: March 19, 1998 http://www.watson.org/~juniper/poetry/balanced.html