* A New Day Has Begun Poem by Rani Turton

I have walked, walked until daylight seemed night.
The long tunnel of darkness drove the breath
From my body; soft light from celestial bodies
Did not harm these eyes, only my feet were sore.
The wind shook the branches: they looked like demons dancing
Beckoning me on like before. How long is eternity?
Why cannot the soul find serenity?

Pebbles scatter and fall as for ages past.
A soft mist rises off the river:
I will find the boatman to ferry me.
The soft rays of the morning sun warms my cold face;
Will hopefully warm this restless heart.
I have time enough and more. Life is thus
Moments, and more than instants in the evermore.

The river is almost eternal. Ah, this gleaming shore.
A bird that plummets and plunges
Is part of the eternal scheme of things.
A pattern that crosses my fate. Look at that
Tree's branches dancing in the river breeze.
Soon the fisherfolk will return home.
Village women will wash their clothes in the sun.

And now, it seems as if a new day has begun.