She Sets Off

For Deborah and Deborah

She sets off

She sets off a chain of events

An archipelago of reactions

In herself

In others

A catalyst of behaviors

Regrets

And pain

She sets off

Running with the wolves

A tornado through the forests

Of her psyche

Running with and from the winds

Making a trail

That blazes

She sets off

A string of fireworks

Explosions in grandeur

And sparking

Sparkling showers

Of celebration

Of power

Of enormity beyond believing

Only to shimmer against the night

For a moment

Then gone forever

Except in the smell that lingers

In the memory of such a sight

She sets off

Alone

Now running to wolves

And eagles

And caribou

To find herself

In the beautiful wreckage

Of what is left

From so many settings

Only now to rise

She rises

She rises

She rises

And she will rise again

To set off new flares

In the wilderness territories

She maps for herself

That she creates for herself

By herself

In the rising with the gentle sparks

Of sun on water

Rising with the fecund promise

Fastened gently in the corners

Of each not-yet-made new day