by Leigh-Anne Burley

When the songbird can’t stretch her voice
to rouse the drowsy dawn above the horizon,
moments within movements undulate.

When friends' well-wishes drop like a stone
into a stagnant pond and
the valley of sorrows 
becomes a boxed-in canyon.

When bedsheets tighten around your throat
then sickness gathers in the folds.

Raw winds scrape eternity
splitting lopsided moments into prisms
into a place beyond where
the eagle is gliding,
the chick is hatching, and
the wind is whistling.

In that brazen moment,
on the back side of the universe
a candle flickers,
 a screen door squeaks on its hinges,
a feather floats on a current.

God walks in the heat of your garden
whispering your name and says,
here I AM.
I am here.
You are not alone.
You are never alone.

The moment within
the moment sinks
into your spirit and
clasp your hand.

The midnight songbird 
serenades the smiling sun.

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Leigh-Anne Burley was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and resides in Virginia with her husband. She has three children and six grandchildren. Leigh-Anne has a BA in English and an MA in Pastoral Counseling. She is published in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Leigh-Anne enjoys walking and hiking in nature, reading, writing and movies.