Illustration by Leeay Aikawa.

Grounding

She sunk her bare feet
into the cold, damp earth
and played with the mud
like dough.
The mash collected
between her fingers
and underneath
her toes.
It had a faint smell
of dust and rain,
as she picked
at the bits of grain.
Layers of dark cloud
floated above her
and an icy breeze
swept her face.
Beetles and bugs
began to crawl
into the nest of her hand
of mounted land.
And suddenly she felt
less small; less alone
as silver droplets of rain
began to fall.

By Serena Tshuma