by Jess Costello

after Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day”

I am that grasshopper.
My complicated eyes dart between triumphant trees
seeking blades of green on which to land.


You watched me go about my life
as if I held the answers to yours
as if you were so busy being busy you forgot the power of
one breath


Welcome back.


I need no words to pray.
By lifting my wings,
by lowering my eyes
I arrive in the unending symphony of the divine.


Welcome back.

‘One Breath’ performed and read by Jess Costello
Jess Costello

Jess is a mental health counselling student, arts reporter for Boston Hassleand indie music nerd in Massachusetts. Her other work has most recently appeared at iO, 50 Word Stories, and Amendo. She loves exploring several novel ideas at once and visiting the ocean.

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