Becoming a Cloud

A fog formed from the ether yesterday evening.
It hung around all night…laboring.
This morning, I sat with the pregnant cloud,
Sighed heavily, and felt my breath attach to her conception.
I rose with her wee fog droplets in the warming sun.
High above the regal redwoods, the searching hawk,
The sea-green, breaking waves….
High above it all: a grander, broader perspective…..
The cloud rose higher still, sparkled in sunlight…
Dissolved.
I fell to earth.
What a flight!
 
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
     don’t hesitate.  Give in to it.
         *****
    Joy is not made to be a crumb.

From: “Don’t Hesitate”  -- Mary Oliver