“Wake Up” Poetry and Illustration

Wake up

When that sliver of daybreak tugs at your eyes

Wake up to unexplored possibilities

Stretch your body in gratitude

Embrace the gift of a new day

Open your heart to a compassionate view

Welcome the sun as she rises for you

Ground into this world and listen for what you need

There is work to be done

In the streets and in your own heart

Start from the root

This is the first poem in ‘Start From The Root’, my recently published book of illustrations and poetry. After a year of polishing this book, I’m excited to have completed this goal. I have been writing poetry for most of my life, but only seriously in the past four years. After several people I loved died in just a few years, I began to write poetry as a way to heal. It has been some of the best medicine.