The First Noble Truth

I wake

there is sufferng.

I sleep

there is suffering-

my mother's hands

my sister's feet

my father's heart

my brother is missing.

I wait. I pray. I meditate.

There is suffering.

I am not alone-

there are mountains, prairie and oceans

as deep as my mind.

There are those who say there is no end.

There are those who say this is the end

I am not a prophet-

I am a cloud in this vast sky

Connie Buchenroth, June 2007