Flying over Calabria 

Me and the pain.

I descend into it,

Ask what it wants of me.

It feels dense,

Thick with stories. 

Can I be here with this grief, 

For that is what I encounter.

As I approach it

My heart splits open.

All this sadness appears 

As if magnetised

By my presence.

I sense it will reveal itself 

But I’m afraid to stay with it.

I fear it will swallow me,

That I will disappear into it,

That it will enfold me

In its layers 

And slowly crush me

But this I where

I have to go

The journey to this place 

Has made me ready 

To hear the secret 

It wants to tell me.

That somehow

I’m in the right place

That this existence 

can be borne