Grace – a poem by Heather Cameron

Grace

Does the river forgive the sea 
For opening its mouth,
For swallowing the miles 
It has travelled and leading it to
A new life in new waters, 
Lost to its original self?

And when the branch falls
In the storm, crashes to the ground,
Does the man, seeking firewood
At the end of a season, understand
What has been freely given, does he
Pause to hear the weeping sap?

I hear the wind in the spruce trees,
I see the remnant moon in the sky.
I catch the hint of fire in the sunrise,
I smell the electric promise of storm.
I wait for the grace, 
And it comes.

Heather Cameron is a poet with a particular interest in autopathography and elegiac works. Her first collection of poetry, A Random Caller – Cancer Poetry, published by Ginninderra Press, SA in 2023 was completed as part of her creative arts PhD at Deakin University. Cameron writes about the sacred and spiritual in relation to loss and grief, exploring the spaces people travel to during these times.