BREATHE

The Way In
Linda Hogan

Sometimes the way to milk and honey is through the body.

Sometimes the way in is a song.

But there are three ways in the world: dangerous, wounding,

and beauty.

To enter stone, be water.

To rise through hard earth, be plant

desiring sunlight, believing in water.

To enter fire, be dry.

To enter life, be food.

Adrian Johnston. "Breath" Oil on Linen (detail).
This painting is an in-process work, perhaps about the way breath enters a body, using images of wind and fire, book and tree. (Detail) Oil on Linen, 48 x 60 in.

This poem can be found at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55761/the-way-in and more of Linda Hogan’s poetry at https://www.lindahoganwriter.com/

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