shake loose

when I feel
weighed down,
regretting the past,
asking what’s next,
filled with if onlys
and what ifs—
I’ve fallen out
of the present
and back into time
with its missteps
and worries

eventually I notice
the burdens—
suffering’s swamp
and my drowning—
it wakes me,
shakes loose
the mirage
I slip out of time
and land with
kerplunk!
right back here

breeze dusts my skin,
plum clouds
waft their scent,
hard rain
pelts my face—
these rinse my mind
of what’s done
and what’s looming—
then I start fresh
in this amaranthine
now

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.