At the river.
“Shall we gather?”

She asked.I paid little attention.

She waited.I bargained with the pavement until empty.

I stumbled to her side.

She took me in.I fell to my knees and she banked me.

With no poverty of compassion.

She encouraged me to stand.

To walk.  To let go.  To come back.

I do every day.

She is my friend.

She knows my name.

And now I stand, not for me,

But for us.

I will stand.  I will walk.

And I will fight for her, beside her.

She, who taught us to survive winter.I stand with her.

She, who leads us through each melancholy of fall,

And graces us with the hope of spring,I stand with her.  

She who summers us with delight,Without discrimination, I stand with her.

For you.  For me.

For all of us.I stand.  

We stand.

We gather strength.  

We gather hope. Information.  Knowledge.  

Permission. Peace.  Humanity.  

Love.

We gather.