The Center

by: Kyle Elden

This is the center of our love
a convergence
a place
where roots unfurled into gritty dirt
a most unlikely and dark place
splitting the seed of possibility
breathing life into barren land

This is letting go
not goodbye, but a departure
a place
where the tree divides from a hearty
trunk into branches
each making their way towards
the sky, reaching for the light
on their own

This is living in the center
of life
a place
where both grief and joy
grab hold of us
touch us gently on our cheek
look deeply into our eyes
and kiss us sweetly on our lips
and we fall wildly in love with our life
even when, at first glance,
it appears to be a devastating mess

This is the center
of God
a place
where we stop turning away, stop
grasping for illusions of what we think we want
and who we think we are
stop trying to transform the shape of the stone
before it is rolled away from the tomb
marking the doorway to freedom
and we sit in the darkness
here in this uncertain place
and trust that this too
is grace