Hiking Companions

Anxiety starts off strong,
picking up stones along the path
to rub their sharp edges,
but wears out quickly.

Melancholy quietly places
those stones in a sack
and slings it over his shoulder.
He walks slowly,
weighed down by the burden.

Peace meets up at the overlook.
She gently takes each stone
from the sack,
blesses it,
and places it in the creek bed.

At last calm,
like water flowing
over smooth stones,
finds me.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith