Steady As Stone

if the wolves circle with their yellow patience remember: you also have teeth

when the forest closes 
     its eyes
          and fog erases
the path you thought
     you knew
          do not fight against
the white blindness—

     stand still

          let the moss beneath 
     your feet
speak its soft 
     green language
          older than direction
               older than fear

if the wolves circle
     with their yellow patience
remember: 
     you also have teeth 
          in your certainty
you also carry
     the howl of all
          who refused
               to kneel

the rain will come
     cold against 
          your upturned face
washing the maps from 
     your hands

teach your bones
     to become their own compass
          let your blood remember
               true north

when exhaustion whispers
     its bittersweet poison
          lie down on the earth’s 
               dark chest
hear the ancient drum
     steady as stone
          still beating in sync to 
          your heart
     constant as the turning
of unnamed constellations

there is a door in the deepest part
     of your memory
          and beyond it
     someone is waiting
          with a lantern
               made of your own
                    forgotten courage