a stronger flower
there are aspects
from all the women
i’ve been before
that i miss,
but i am trying to be
comfortable enough
to sit in this moment;
even if it isn’t my
favorite,
even if it hurts—
because maybe one day
i will see that there was
growth in this moment,
too;
sometimes we only see
how far we’ve grown
when we look back and see
that we aren’t the same
flower we bloomed as
yesterday—
so i am praying that every day
builds the bones of a stronger,
sweeter flower than the one i was
yesterday.
in all of this
i think i need
a long walk
into the trees,
to shed all the dead
weight i keep
trying to carry
with me;
i need to hug the trees
and be hugged by
them—
need to hear crow song,
and dance in the creek;
need to remember
i am nature and nature is
a part of me no matter
how far i may go from her arms—
i need to fall into the song
of a sunrise falling among the trees,
and dance with the moonlight at night;
observe the song of stars in a
night sky and ponder my place in
all of this.
Linda M. Crate
Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has fifteen published chapbooks the latest being: not your piñata (Alien Buddha Publishing, June 2025).