your smile is everywhere

Recently, I’ve been paying attention to the moon. When I feel tired or weary, there’s a sense of solace I find in the moon. The moon smiles back at me, and I think of my mom and everyone who has loved me. I think it’s because whenever my grandma used to tell me stories to help me fall asleep, I would stare at the moon through the window and drift softly to sleep.

The moon waxes and wanes, and it changes through the seasons, but I find peace in knowing that it is always there. In a sense, life is like that too: a melange of loved ones, defining events, and turbulence flow through the mystery that we call life and yet despite all that change, I feel as if there’s something constant underneath it all.

If I were to describe that constant, it would be the love that my mom left with me, and the continuation of that love. I see love manifested in so many beautiful strangers — when someone says good morning to me on the street, asks me how I am doing today, or shares something funny that happened to them. When I listen to music that just resonates deeply within, or when I walk through the rain. There’s something comforting in the constant change of life, along with the stable, solid, and grounding nature of earth.

I wrote a poem this past week that tries to capture this vibrant feeling, and I hope that you may find some joy today.

your smile carries me through hard days and easy days; in the sun and in the shade

your smile brings me back home to something familiar and warm, like hot chocolate on a cold winter night

your smile is a soft balm, a quiet peace amidst suffering and pain

your smile is found in the flowers, blowing in the wind

in the quiet nights, the moon smiles back, and says you’ll be alright.

your smile changes with time, with the seasons, with the tides,
it ebbs and flows
but i still know that in everything, even in the smallest flower or the tallest tree

your smile is everywhere, and for that i am grateful.

love,

victoria