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