{"id":1731,"date":"2008-11-19T19:40:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T03:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beltdrivebetty.com\/wyzwmnsworld\/?p=1731"},"modified":"2010-09-29T18:26:46","modified_gmt":"2010-09-30T01:26:46","slug":"the-return-geneen-marie-haugen-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/?p=1731","title":{"rendered":"The Return – Geneen Marie Haugen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some day, if you are lucky,<\/span><\/span>
you\u2019ll return from a thunderous journey<\/span><\/span>
trailing snake scales, wing fragments<\/span><\/span>
and the musk of Earth and moon.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eyes will examine you for signs<\/span><\/span>
of damage, or change<\/span><\/span>
and you, too, will wonder<\/span><\/span>
if your skin shows traces<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

of fur, or leaves,<\/span><\/span>
if thrushes have built a nest<\/span><\/span>
of your hair, if Andromeda<\/span><\/span>
burns from your eyes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Do not be surprised by prickly questions<\/span><\/span>
from those who barely inhabit<\/span><\/span>
their own fleeting lives, who barely taste<\/span><\/span>
their own possibility, who barely dream.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If your hands are empty, treasureless,<\/span><\/span>
if your toes have not grown claws,<\/span><\/span>
if your obedient voice has not<\/span><\/span>
become a wild cry, a howl,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

you will reassure them. We warned you,<\/span><\/span>
they might declare, there is nothing else,<\/span><\/span>
no point, no meaning, no mystery at all,<\/span><\/span>
just this frantic waiting to die.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, they tremble, mute,<\/span><\/span>
afraid you\u2019ve returned without sweet<\/span><\/span>
elixir for unspeakable thirst, without<\/span><\/span>
a fluent dance or holy language<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

to teach them, without a compass<\/span><\/span>
bearing to a forgotten border where<\/span><\/span>
no one crosses without weeping<\/span><\/span>
for the terrible beauty of galaxies<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and granite and bone. They tremble,<\/span><\/span>
hoping your lips hold a secret,<\/span><\/span>
that the song your body now sings<\/span><\/span>
will redeem them, yet they fear<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

your secret is dangerous, shattering,<\/span><\/span>
and once it flies from your astonished<\/span><\/span>
mouth, they\u2013like you\u2013must disintegrate<\/span><\/span>
before unfolding tremulous wings.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some day, if you are lucky, you\u2019ll return from a thunderous journey trailing snake scales, wing fragments and the musk of Earth and moon. Eyes will examine you for signs of damage, or change and you, too, will wonder if … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1731"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4417,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731\/revisions\/4417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}