Baltimore, February 2026

Keeping My

There is a rarified air—

One we all wish was more common—

Where the birds

Who sing clear

Make the sound of traffic

Harmonic

In the stillness of order

I hear the hush

Of a silence

Profound and melodic

Without the violence of thought—

A shield

From the misery

Of a battle eternal fought—

Shifting plates, tectonic

A longness of a constant stream

Floating on butterfly wings

A whisper of gentle things

Wanting to be done

While the neediness for all else

Goes to a background

Where urgency melts

Into a warm yawn

Here, the beating

Of an anxious heart

Is submerged,

Exchanged for a sensual feeling,

Inviting ears to enjoy

And eyes to wander without seeing

Tasting the colors around instead

A gift of witnessing the beauty in a single moment dead

And birthing another

This air is mine

Because I longed for it

I cherished it

I yearned for its return

And when it is here

I know it is my true love

And a balm for what is burned.

To cast away

This air of peace—

This air of utter surrender—

Would be to throw out

Myself.

In this way

I keep My.