Returning

Returning
I sense a change
My body reaches.
Looking down I see the land
and know I’m almost home.
My breath is taken by the sight
of so much green,
The life of a rainy summer.
Deep, dark green
Dotting the rich brown flesh
of the earth our mother.

Now I find the muddy thread
that winds and turns
Into the great water serpent
Crawling across the desert
Plumed with cottonwood
Bringing life to all things
Bringing me home.

– Loretta Shiver