Somehow, a little beyond

what I had thought possible —

subtler than expected,

experiences in my own self

and in the world

began to soften.

Words flowed from a different

place and echoed long after

the brief moments I felt pulled

to write or remember.

It was a familiar kind of echo,

the kind of echo I had felt

from the difficult path that had

brought me to this point.

But this new echo,

this unending quiet prayer,

soothed and softened

places in my heart that had once

seemed unhealable

and carried me softly

toward a gentler path.