Kelly Salasin

Until I moved to Vermont, I didn’t truly appreciate “summer.”

I didn’t understand the Equinox or the Solstice.

I didn’t know the meaning of “southern exposure.”

I took the sun for granted.

I’d never felt spring in my bones.

I resisted heat.

I didn’t get dirty.

I wore white.

I shaved.

Living here now, I steep in each season down to my core.

I EMBRACE summer like a lover.

I relish his kisses on my skin.

I delight in my feet upon the earth.

I sink my hands into the soft soil,

and slip my body into the welcoming waters.

To live in Vermont is to know your connection to all things.

With that gift,

comes

both pleasure

and grief.

To Be of the Earth

To be of the Earth is to know

the restlessness of being a seed

the darkness of being planted

the struggle toward the light

the pain of growth into the light

the joy of bursting and bearing fruit

the love of being food for someone

the scattering of your seeds

the decay of the seasons

the mystery of death

and the miracle of birth.

~John Soos