When I wake in the middle of the night

And my heart rate is up because I can’t stop thinking,

I imagine each of my problems and insecurities and hurts

Laying down in the sunshine of a warm summer day

And watching the breeze blow the stalks of the wildflowers

As butterflies float from stem to stem

Without a care.

And as I feel my heart rate slow,

As it would if I too were laying prone in the laziness of the afternoon sun

I image that each thought that comes into my head

Is also one of those drifting butterflies,

Gently floating from stem to stem.

As all the troubles that could keep me awake drift away

I take a deep breath of that wide, wonderful nothing

That waits for me in the sunlight on the meadow

And the peace that overcomes me sends me drifting

To the place where nothing can harm me.

And I fall back asleep.