<

Braving the Light

by Kim baker

Turn sideways into the light, as they say the old ones did,
and disappear into the originality of it all. David Whyte

Be brave.
Take a walk along the rock-strewn beach.
In the rain.
The pebbles will never be as treacherous
or as beautiful
as when they are wet.

Hold a few stones
in the deep place beneath your fingers
and above your palm:
orange and gray
egg speckled
and the one black as a whale's back.

Then hold one to your nose
and smell time itself
for you are holding the cosmos
something primal and full of stories.
And now, you are a chapter too.

And when rock and sand and salt
take your breath away
and you have no idea
which way is home,
face the bay
where a single sunray
glazes the waves.

Then turn sideways into the light
as they say the old ones did
and disappear into the originality of it all
carrying with you time itself
and the satisfaction and contentment
only courage brings.

Click here to order

When she isn't teaching the abundant virtues of the comma at Roger Williams University School of Law, writing poetry about big hair and Elvis, and doing the Cha Cha, Kim Baker works to end violence against women.

Kim's poems have been published online and in print and essays broadcast on NPR. Three short plays have been stage-read at Culture*Park in New Bedford.

Kim's first chapbook of poetry, Under the Influence: Musings about Poems and Paintings, is now available from Finishing Line Press.

Kim is currently working on a book of ekphrasis poems about the stories and portrayals of women in the paintings of female artists. Kim can be reached at bighairedpoet@gmail.com.