A gentle breeze fingers my chiffon hijab.
Jade grass sways like a little girl, shaking her head softly.
Green hills curve up, falling flush with Earth.
This courtyard is interspersed with towering trees who
Spread their wings and
Ooze oxygen so we can breathe.
The tymbals of cicadas rumble, emitting faint clicks.
Wildish pink and red flowers invite royalty,
Unfurling their red carpet of petals for
Orange and white-speckled monarchs.
Sunlight casts through large floor-to-ceiling windows,
Illuminating books and teachers and students who bustle about
With printouts in hand and hurry off to a meeting or a class or
To turn in an assignment or to study for an exam.
A cobbled pathway leads out of this courtyard.
I enter a pit of construction—of human endeavor—
Of cement and cadmium and chemicals.
I pivot and run back to the courtyard—to this sanctuary.
Having returned, I bathe in sunlight’s peace.
I step away from the material world
Of worries, anxieties, homework,
Test corrections, social cues,
And right things and wrong things to say.
I let the warm sun sink into me and whisk me away
Even if only briefly.
Though I will return to life to fulfill its callings,
I will visit nature’s home
Time and time again,
That generous host
Who always offers me its abode
And a shoulder upon which to lean.
