My Heart Walks Barefoot

(Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash)

Feet shod
shielded and bound
Unaware
of what lies beneath

Unable to sense
textures, surfaces
Suppressed and cut off
from feeling

Sheltered
from the sensations
Creation holds
Humanity expresses

I take off my shoes
the trappings of emotion

Barefoot I walk
more aware and in tune
Consciousness unlocked
I welcome it all in

In the meadow I stroll
grass between my toes
Sinking into the heart of the earth
feet grounded, resolved

Amidst the stones I meander
with tender, delicate feet
Awake to pain and suffering
rough, jagged pricks of awareness

Through the snow I trudge
cold seeping into my toes
Raw and bitter resistance
holding threats of numbness

Within the sand I tread
a dance upon burning hot coals
A long slow-motion run
toward the hope of ocean waves

Rediscovering sensations
long kept safely within
Set free to take a journey
to feel everything

Glory and pain
dwell with the bare heart
For solidarity and compassion
my heart willingly walks barefoot