

I leave the porch light off tonight The wind's been talking too
much
Headlines humming in the kitchen
I rinse them off my
hands in cold water
Bare feet on the wood floor
Coming back into my body
I don't answer every ghost that knocks
I don't carry every name they drop
I learned
to love the sound of a locked door
I protect my energy like a small lit room One candle,
one bowl, salt on the sill
I say no soft,
I say no true
If it costs my peace,
it costs too much to keep
When the world feels haunted,
I keep my light low and steady
Phone face down, kettle on
Let the steam rewrite the air
I breathe in for four,
hold, let go
Let what isn't mine go back where it lives I
water
something green
I let something dead be dead I
protect my energy
like a small lit room One candle,
one bowl, salt on the sill
I say no soft,
I say no true
If it costs my peace,
it costs too much to keep When the world feels haunted,
I keep my light low and steady
I am not a lighthouse for every storm
I am not a blanket for every cold
I am a house with a hearth I choose who sits near
the fire
I sweep the corners,
I clear the air
I close the curtains,
I say a prayer that is just my own breath I protect
my energy,
not because I'm hard But because I'm holy,
and tender, and still here
Low and steady Low and steady Let
the
haunted world
pass by My light stays low and steady