A collection is taking shape with each poem finding its rhythm in its own time.
While the full anthology is still unfolding, here’s a small sampling to wander through in the meantime.

Time Softens With Her Breath

My daughter sleeps on my chest

and peace,

greater than I ever knew before her,

sinks into me.

Her breath settles into mine.

Her small weight anchors me

to the quiet center of the world.

I am the place her body knows.

The rhythm she trusts.

The warmth that tells her

she can let go.

There is an honor in this

that words barely touch-

to be the place where teething pain loosens,

where sleep comes easily,

where nothing is required

except being held.

The room is still.

The couch holds us both.

Time moves differently here,

softened by her breathing.

I do not need to be anywhere else.

I do not need to become anything more.

Right now, I am exactly

who she needs me to be.

-Sarah Emrick

The Hollowed Places

I came upon a maple,

ancient in its grace,

a hundred years of whispers

woven into bark and branch.

Its presence shimmered,

not only in the sweep of its crown,

but in the hollows carved deep within-

darkened doors of time.

At first glance I felt concern for the tree,

yet wonder bloomed stronger,

for even in its scars,

the tree gleamed with life.

The hollow is not weakness,

it is the doorway where life continues.

A bird finds shelter,

a moth folds its wings,

rain gathers and softens the bark.

So too with us.

The cracks, the wounds,

the spaces carved out by loss or sorrow-

they are not endings.

They are the chambers where compassion lives,

where resilience roots itself,

where strength grows quieter,

but deeper.

Our struggles carve passages,

our sorrows create caverns,

and still we rise,

leaf and light unfurling

toward the sun.

Hollowed does not mean broken.

It means enchanted with space,

made wide enough

to cradle more life,

to echo more song,

to house the strength

that cannot be shattered.

The Flow

The river moves without demand,

a silver thread through sovereign land.

It carries gifts both near and far,

guided softly by the stars.

The earth beneath holds steady ground,

her roots embrace, her shields surround.

The sky above sings clear and true,

reminding me what I can do.

The flame within, a steady glow,

ignites the path I’m meant to know.

Its light reveals, its warmth sustains,

a sacred fire through my veins.

What’s meant for me will find its way,

like dawn returning after gray.

What’s not for me drifts out of sight,

released with grace to endless night.

I walk in trust, I walk in love,

guarded here and blessed above.

I rise, I open, I receive-

all flows to me with gentle ease.

May Your Wings Stretch Farther Than Mine

There are paths our feet have not yet touched,

trails winding beneath mountains that wait for us,

oceans that long to carry your laughter on their waves, Ellie,

but already they stir with the promise of your joy.

We will find hidden meadows where wildflowers bend,

not because of the wind, but to greet us.

We will watch the sunrise from places

we have not even dreamed of yet,

and it will feel like we have always belonged there.

There will be kitchens filled with the scent of shared meals and laughter,

soul family whose eyes will shine with instant recognition,

as if we have searched lifetimes to sit at the same table.

Your hand in mine, Ellie, we will always know:

we are never walking alone.

There will be festivals of color,

rainfall we dance through without care,

quiet nights where the stars tuck us in,

moments so simple they burst with eternity.

The river of time is carrying us gently,

and though we cannot see every bend ahead,

I know it is leading us to beauty

beyond what I can even name.

And when you grow,

and when your wings stretch farther than mine,

I will still be there in the music of your laughter,

in the strength of your steps,

in the memory of all the places

we discovered together.

Every tomorrow waits for us

like a gift already wrapped-

and together, Ellie,

we will keep opening them,

again and again,

with wonder.