For Rising

Denali’s ancient and rugged rock is 

pinched between tectonic plates

still shifting and shaking all the time.

She is rock 

lava 

ocean 

glacier 

wind 

sky. 

She is pressure 

mystery 

wisdom 

fortitude,

caught in creation and 

will never tire of being made new.

She is fierce and holy 

her roots uncontrollable magic 

her crown revealed on her own terms 

responsible for the weather 

swirling up from her hips. 

Whenever the earth shakes and 

the ice cracks, we remember

she grows taller still, 

one millimeter at a time, 

stealthy and sure. 

She is both trapped and free. 

She is not finished rising and 

neither am I.

From Ordinary Blessings: Prayers, Poems and Meditations for Everyday Life.