after Dr. Carl Sagan, for Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Lexington, Kentucky
Moss fancy tree feet
dressed for a party
July sweet
where fat beads of light
find the forest floor, and me,
meandering, pausing
in cicada surround sound, wild
turkey mumblings, an iridescent green beetle—
this breathing timberland.
Now a red shouldered hawk
takes a solo, somehow
he’s found a microphone in the forest.
In this sanctuary,
creek water and limestone
wave a magic mirror
and the clouds, a slow-moving film strip
show me
this is my pale blue dot.
“Perennial” first appeared in Woe & Awe by Lisa M. Miller (Accents Publishing, 2024). Used with permission.
Lisa M. Miller is an inclusive, trauma-informed, community-building artist. Her long-time mentors are Indigenous medicine healers. Trained as a clinical non-denominational chaplain, specializing in mind-body health, she facilitates support groups and a variety of art and writing workshops that bring to life perennial wisdom teachings—a compass for meaning, intuition, and well-being. Lisa is an empty nester, living in Lexington, Kentucky, married to her 1986 summer camp sweetheart. Her full-length manuscript is Woe & Awe (Accents Publishing, 2024).