someday we will all be sitting

around the campfire together

taking turns sharing

the epic story of our lives

“I understand you,” we say to the storyteller

when they are finished

after everyone has a chance to speak

then we turn to our neighbor

and run our thumbs across

the scars we each brought in

and they smudge right off of us

as if they were Lenten ashes

and the fire rises

and the music between us grows

and we start to dance

and we are no longer strangers

we are a cracking

campfire community

of seekers and healers

~ where the act of listening to our neighbor

share their story is a sacrament

~ where saying “I understand you” is

the most powerful prayer we can ever utter

and we keep saying it over and over

and over and over to each other

until the dawn comes

and the fire turns into smoke

and we turn into morning birds

~ who travel the world together