Disremembered

we've forgotten the curve of the earth
in the small of our backs
where the spine meets the skin
and the skin meets the air

how to walk without leaving
a footprint of longing
on the skin of the earth
as if our feet were mouths
drinking from the ground

we've lost the language
of leaves and rivers
our words now mere whispers
in the ears of concrete

and yet we yearn to be
remembered by the land
to feel the tremors
of the earth's ancient heart

as if our footsteps
were a lover's caress
kissing the earth
with every step
with every breath

in this forgetting
we've misplaced the map
of our own belonging
our bodies mere ghosts
haunting the landscape

but what if we slowed
our pace to a whisper
and listened to the earth
as it whispers back

what if our feet
were not just feet
but instruments
of devotion
playing the earth's song