The Need for Pausing

This piece is both poem and reflection—a reminder of how stillness can appear even in the middle of chaos.

The Need for Pausing

You know, it’s not just my thoughts that run wild
not noticing all the other thoughts around
stumbling against each other
creating an enormous amount of chaos.

It’s also the honks of the streets that don’t listen to each other,
the pollution I find in every corner,
the things I want to do covered with the things I have to do,
the pain of that old thing that’s still there,
the pain of that new thing that’s just happened.

And I can get lost in the descriptions too,
about where my attention goes every second of the hour.
Into a thousand avenues I drift.
No wonder I forget who I was.

And in the middle of it all, I look up,
stars silent above me,
beaming reminders of a life long gone,
and I pause.

Stillness washes right through me.
Here I am.
Here I am.
Under the stars —
Here I am.