There was a sound in the trees

There was a sound in the trees Calling my name The sky was holding something I couldn’t explain Always just ahead Just out of sight Said there was shelter If I held on tight A place among the bodies Where nothing had to change Blend into the crowd And hope the weather changed Verse 2 Ground worn down By boots like mine Their eyes would say “It’s different this time.” If we stayed ahead Of the breaking sky We’d leave the storm Somewhere behind Outrun the ones Who felt that pain I thought the weather Would bruise my skin So I kept in motion To outrun who I’d been Chorus But the woods are only woods No answers in the air No sign in the branches Saying someone cares Trees reach upward Breaking through While I trace old footprints Pressed heavy from my past Every step I carried Every weight I wore Pressed in the dirt Like I’d braced before Verse 3 Deep in the dark A small hand found mine Green eyes steady Cut the line I saw myself there Unstaged, unrehearsed All the quiet distances I kept between my skin and them The face I had practiced Didn’t hold tight And for the first time I let her see my eyes Lift Felt myself seen without defense No story to spin No posture to bend I felt the chill On my skin No layer left Between what’s within The ground shifted Loose dirt gave way I moved my weight Turned my step And chose to stay Bridge No rope on my ankle No chain on the gate Just fear dressed up Like love and forever No rope on my ankle No chain on the gate Just habits I carried Mistaken for fate The trail doesn’t bless you It doesn’t condemn It waits in the weather For where you step again Final Section I lift my eyes I let it in The wind on my face The rain on my skin I know this storm is mine I’ve seen who I become Somewhere past the shaking Somewhere in what comes The sky still breaks above me — Wind against my face There’s a pull beneath my eyes And I finally know its name.