Pastures Green

I folded the map of sorrow, laid it down with care
No longer tracing footsteps through the ghosts that linger there
The walls once whispered warnings, now they hum no more
I’ve unlatched the gate of memory, let it swing toward something more

I chose the wind over the weight
The meadow over the maze
I chose to walk, not run, away
From all that held me in its haze
And though the sky was slow to clear
I waited for the soft serene
For the hush before the bloom
For the call of pastures green

I drank from wells of silence, let the stillness speak
The ache became a lantern, glowing faint but deep
No longer do I barter with the shadows of regret
I’ve planted seeds of gentler days in soil not haunted yet

Let the old roads twist and vanish
Let the echoes fade to hush
I’ll not mourn what never flourished
I’ll not rush what needs to blush
For every ending wears a veil
But underneath, a dawn unseen
Where roots will find their rightful rain
And rise toward pastures green

I chose the wind over the weight
The meadow over the maze
I chose to walk, not run, away
From all that held me in its haze
And now the sky begins to sing
A hymn of what might yet have been
I step into the morning’s breath
And walk toward pastures green

Not escape, but a becoming
Not a flight, but a return
To the place where light is learning
How to heal, and how to burn