life bursting forth

here I am

waiting for words

to give shape

to this gratitude

welling up

for reasons

beyond reason

a heart unable to

catch God

but caught

like love filling

this throat with song

as the river fills with

swarming salmon

swimming upstream

chasing death

down

drowning in joy

more precious

than wakened eyes that

would hold dreams

seen while still sleeping

and stronger than

steel or stone

forged and hewn to

soar or moor—

this pioneer soul

now bolder

shall flourish

as undiscovered forests,

thick and rich,

wild

alive

I shall not be moved

I shall be moved

life bursting forth

a poem by Troy Cady