The sun shines bright  

as warmth spreads across  

the body of the earth,  

reaching down to her inner core  

and manifesting outwardly,  

leaves unfurling, flowers blossoming   

as the heat slowly rises.  

Gentle caresses from the wind,  

mountains of grass arch and then   

stretch down into valleys,  

rivers of water that pool and flow  

catching the waning reflections  

of light,   

the earth flushed with color.  

 Now night is tangled in the hills  

the stars intertwined with the sea,  

the trees—  

their branches stretched upward  

as the sky reaches down to meet them,   

the earth settles and then sleeps,  

heaven above and below at peace.  

Photo by Wendy Wei.