EnCoated

Wrapping up after

all the unwrapping of glittered

paper, tinsel & bows

Tucking, settling in

under the weight of Winter’s arrival

There becomes a lightening

In the acceptance of it all—

The season of quiet

Not from dreary

Yet from a wonder

Not from weary

Yet from stark bright

That stuns us all into silence

A silence so evocative

We can hear our hearts deeper longing

Long after the opening of gifts

We can hear our inherent belonging

Long after the holidays gatherings

As if in donning our Winter coats

We are enveloped in unconditional love

That evenly encoats all parts of ourselves,

Awakening our souls skin

To the glory of being ALIVE

**Photo by John Applegate, Wenatchee, WA