Sometimes
As I get older
my body
seems to be getting
smaller less able
bones a little thinner
eyes a little dimmer
backbone not as straight
the hum of my organs
growing fainter
the miraculous thing is
my spirit
seems to be getting
larger more robust
more open to beauty
loving deeper
ditching regrets
gifts from life incarnate
maybe that’s why
sometimes
I feel my spirit’s absence
especially at night
in the deep of it
like my spirit has left
its cramped quarters
for a stretch
unfolding its wings
touring the stars
….
This poem is from the chapbook Touring the Stars by Betty Les (Finishing Line Press) and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/touring-the-stars-by-betty-les/
Touring the Stars explores themes of science, nature and the human spirit and the myriad ways they are connected. Mysteries open and you are invited into the world of birds and insects, rivers, trees and rocks–their ways, their deep presence and consciousness. Using simple observations and spare form, the author captures the profound that exists all around us, casting new light on the world we inhabit and offering new ways of being.
Betty Les is a scientist and poet. Her poems have appeared in numerous Redwood Writers Anthologies, in Reverberations I, II, and III published by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, in Vision and Verse, published by the California Writers Club and in the California Writers Club Literary Review Best of the Best. Betty was selected as an Award of Merit Poet in 2018 and has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her first chapbook “Just Enough to See” was published by Finishing Line Press in 2023.
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