September 1, 2023
Photo by Vruyr Martirosyan on Unsplash
A gaggle of barefoot pilgrims
hungry to hush minds’ chatter
tiptoe upstairs, settle
in a circle of chairs.
Through an open window—
a siren’s blast,
dogs barking,
a child’s cry.
In minutes
the clamor curls like smoke
from a snuffed candle
and they roost in silence,
come home to themselves.
September 2023
Karen Luke Jackson is the author of three poetry collections, If You Choose to Come (2023), The View Ever Changing (2021), and Grit (2020). She resides in a cottage on a goat pasture in the Blue Ridge Mountains where she companions people on their spiritual journeys. Online: karenlukejackson.com.
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