Clutching blankets brought from home,
Holding memories from a year ago
When scars were raw,
Heads disguised by wigs
And tears too salt to weep.
I found words difficult then.
‘Body scan’
Was not a mindful exercise
But a machine at the end of a corridor.
There were places in my body
I could not touch with thought.
Like chrysalis we scatter the floor
Each section of our being
Revisited with childlike curiosity,
Sensations magnified, the tickle of wool, the press of cotton.
A forgotten ache from an ankle.
Our teacher’s voice
Both lesson and lullaby
Returning to the breath
Again and again
We try to train our thoughts;
Naughty as puppies
With Baskerville bites
I find peacefulness within the ordinary,
Rest my head in the soft cushion of a second
Savouring the beauty of this moment,
Both rooted in earth and reaching for stars.
Jacqueline Woods