In Lasting Peace

Now the breathing is deep, uneven

After my daily exercise

That anchors me to soil and sky.

Each sit-up calls in ecstasy

And on the treadmill of my life

There is time, so much time

Between accelerated steps

To contemplate the breath,

Follow it to where it leads,

And I, reciting the sacred name

Of one who works in the earth of being

Live again in lasting peace.