To Those of Us Who Stay

You could say that

to stay in one place is

a comfort we all seek.

You could say that

it’s to itch a scratch that

we just can’t reach.

But you could say that

to stay in one place is

to sell life short of the beauty and possibility

            that can be found in the overlooked

            crevices of this land.

To search the earth to

the depths of the sea to

the heights of the clouds to

the shallows of a creek meandering down

            and along the trees.

To go to a place where language is

foreign. The faces

are new. The names

get lost.

To those of us who stay

we fail to see what lies beyond

the simple courage of our hearts.

[alc]