I walked along the park
A soda can, grasped in the palm of my hand
As I rattled the can nothing sounded
And I nonchalantly threw the can along the pond

I stretched my arms towards the side
And continued my walk
Instantaneously an eerie mist emerged
As my legs were tied by the thick ropes of ivy stems
Locked to the ground

Slowly sinking into the earth’s dirt
Returning back to the soil of which I was brought
The ivy enveloped around my body
Wrapping around my limbs
Tightening until my last gasps are given

Then the ivy choked my airways
And my lips are sealed
Covered by the menacing ivy
Yet I still breathed

No longer myself, but replaced by another
My eyes roll back as leaves took the place
Of my amber almond shaped eyes
The leaves concealed my sight
Protecting me from harsh rays

My body suddenly quivered
My bones felt limp
But consciousness still remained

My hair lifted
As though gravity were drawn out from the earth’s atmosphere
And the strands sprouted out
And from the former tangles of knotted hair, petals transformed

The mist began to dissipate
And a flower bloomed
Shimmering with a human essence, but a plant

An emotion within the earth
That does not speak but feels
A communication of compassion from the foundation of life
Through the soil of our earth
The connection of the entire universe
Without speech or sound but a common dialect of love

It was the gift that nature gave me
Allowing me to see
Without the need of eyes
But instead with a new sense
One of
Empathy