The lifting of the fog

By Gretchen Martens

Today

The fog arrived

So thick it swallowed the horizon

Inviting reflection

Yesterday’s broken dreams

Loss, grief, and decades of good-byes

So here I sit

Entombed, marooned

Face to face

With these shards

These fractured pieces of my life

Wondering where the time went

Or here I sit

Enwombed, cocooned

Keeping company, tenderly

With my thoughts

Hopes and dreams

Wondering what life holds

The fog suddenly pierced

The careening of a gull

A shrill call

An invitation to awaken

To find my voice

To remember how to fly

And, on that day of fog

Shrouding the world

Whispering, beckoning

Inviting regret and hope

Depression and optimism

Breaking and mending

Without warning the fog began to burn

The duality of water burning

More accurately evaporating

Succumbing to the power of the sun

That had always been there

A beacon in the unseen

And the horizon appeared

Where it had always been

Slowly, evocatively

Reminding me of eternity

Every shutter flash

Bringing new moments of clarity

And pixel by pixel

The fog gave way

To a soft, sublime light

Like the breath of an angel

Blessing us with life and promise

Into the brilliance of another sunset

The lifting of the fog was written by Gretchen Martens and originally published in House of Peace, a publication of Retreat House Spirituality Center. You can purchase a copy here.