Under the Huntress Moon

Beneath this moon,
I return to the wisdom of my body—
its pulse, its hunger,
the knowing beneath my skin.

Let me know what feeds me.
Let me taste what I have grown.
Let pleasure find a place
at the table of my life.

Huntress,
teach me when to draw the bow
and when to lower it.
There are things I have pursued
that leave me hungry still.

Tonight, I loosen my grip.
I lay my wanting on the earth
and listen for the living thing
beneath it.

Bless the bread, the bed,
the hands that tend.
Bless the beauty I make room for,
the love that meets me here.

May I gather what sustains me
and leave enough to seed.
May I trust the turning season
without abandoning my needs.

Under this full and watchful moon,
I claim the ground beneath my feet.

I am worthy of a life
my body can call home.

—Vanessa Todd