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NATIONAL POETRY MONTH: 2017
LINDA MASON HUNTER

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I AM
© Linda Mason Hunter

In the beginning I am not I.

I am the speed of light squared,
                   atoms smashing together and flying apart in space.
I am a lonely speck in the cosmic dark of the Milky Way,
                   a star-filled galaxy held together by tenuous strands of dust and gas.  
I am a tiny star in a chorus of centaurs     
                   dancing on the rim of a massive black void, 
                   guarding the gate of Sagittarius A*,
                   a portal leading into the heat of fire and ice at the Galactic Core,
                   direct spiritual communion with the great I Am.

I am a molecule of starlight
a thought, a wish, a whisper
a mote of dust suspended in a moonbeam.
I accept the call and wait, growing bright and hesitant by turns.

I am a minuscule meteor riding an incandescent energy beam
            propelled to earth in the shadow of a solar eclipse
            I enter flesh and bone and wake to find myself human
                           — infinite to infant --
            a pioneer soul carrying sorrow in a jug on her shoulder.

I cry.

Linda Mason Hunter splits her time between her homes in Iowa and Vancouver, British Columbia. Formerly an editor with the Des Moines Register, Rodale Press and Meredith Corporation, Linda has written and produced 17 books. Her first book, The Healthy Home: An Attic-To-Basement Guide to Toxin-Free Living (Rodale Press), was favorably reviewed in newspapers and magazines throughout the country, including The New York Times, leading to an appearance on ABC TV’s “Good Morning, America.” She is also the author of the award-winning Three Green Rats: An Eco Tale (Ink Pinn Press), which was a finalist for Foreword Reviews Book of the Year (2013) and runner-up for best early chapter book, fiction, in Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards (2013).

Linda also hosts “The Green Zone” daily on KFMG 98.9 FM in Des Moines. She is currently working on a memoir.

*Note: An excerpt from Three Green Rats and her upcoming memoir will appear in Sanctuary's May 2017 issue with links to Linda's other works.

Please click the below logo to read more about Linda and her work:
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​NEWS...

June Themes:
Culture, Relationships & Exploration

Next Community Compass/Corresponding E-newsletter publishes:
Mid-June
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