Consecration by Patricia Wentzel

I wake to the size of the silence within me
slide feet into shoes
stand tall, taller
balance the weight of your absence
on the edge of each breath
until the moment comes
to pour out the tale of your passing
to speak
to touch everything with you

# # #

After many years as a visual artist and musician, Patricia Wentzel took up poetry as part of her recovery from an episode of Bipolar Disorder. Some of the places her work has been published include the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Light Ekphrastic, Poetry Now, Neutrons Protons, Brevities and Sacramento Voices. She thanks Sacramento Prose and Poetry Meetup, the Sacramento Poetry Center and the Women’s Wisdom Art poetry circle for their support.

Photo: Denise Johnson