Walking the not-so-long-ago 
frozen woods
I gasp in awe
At the guts it takes to unfurl, 
One flower bud at a time,
one leaf at time,
at the edge of becoming an Earthling
in a new season.

It takes guts to step up to the plate of life.
It takes a nervous system as alive as this Earth,
To rise from the frozen soil of the winter of life
and bring forth a riot of colors and shapes
That smack the human in me awake
As I walk deep into the woods of my soul 
where all the medicines reside.

From deep within me, I hear:
Release the chrysalis! 
There’s no full transformation 
while clinging to the shell of what you were
yesterday, a ravenous creepy-crawler!
There is no transfiguration without surrender 
To the emerging butterfly of one’s becoming.

Look around at all of creation,
Howling gales of joy 
at the arrival of a new season.
A reminder that it takes guts and nerve,
To unfurl the human heart, mind, and body
And embrace the courage to be fully alive
On this beloved Earth
Whose precious soil is this human body.