Visiting Terra

The ground tilts
Dressing in strange color
And texture
As it rushes upward.

Grass is not as soft
As you imagine
And the impact is swift
Hard
Unforgiving.

But stay there.
Do not move
(As if that were possible)
And let the earth do its work.

It will tattoo you
With marks with which to remember
Your visit.
Blood and dirt
Have long been familiar
One with the other.

Someone will come.

When your awareness returns
They will bear you up
Will deposit you
In a soft place
And speak gently to you
When you are able
Once more
To hear
To understand.

I assure you
Following this unexpected visit
To Terra
You will learn just how short
Are your legs
And how unforgiving is the land.

Perhaps it is time to become
Kin to the cane.