I listen and my empathy
follows the threads of passion
(threads like water veins
upon the land below,
the rivers, lakes, the melting snow,
the cities clustered there, along the roads)

I feel the longing and the pain,
I feel the exaltation —
my spirit hums an all-embracing chord
that circles round the threads
and drops beneath,
enfolding them in overarching blue.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 24, 2019