how it begins, how it ends

by Elise Stuart

start loving right away in the morning,

realize this day is the only one you'll get.

contemplate, drink tea, read in the sun,

make a story, write it down,

wash the dishes,

sit on the swing,

follow the moon's path

through branches of the apricot tree.

keep loving far into the night,

even in your dreams.

feel the cat against your back.

imagine yourself living inside

a passionflower, a star, a sound.

now you exist everywhere—

quiet joy, your song.

* * * * *

Happy first day of May to all with this beautiful poem!

"how it begins, how it ends" is from Elise Stuart's poetry collection Another Door Calls.

Elise Stuart moved to Silver City in 2005, and her heart opened to the desert. She found the creative current to be strong in this southwest corner of New Mexico, and she found beauty in the land and rivers and sky and in the people who live here. In 2014, when she was chosen Poet Laureate of Silver City, she envisioned young people expressing themselves through poetry so during the next three years, so she gave over a hundred workshops to youth. She continues with this work.