Rise

You're legs give out and you fall to the ground... you feel it's cold touch welcoming, pulling you against it like water settling between cracks. You're one with the world, and you hear it's call.

I am you whisper back, a ghost of a voice you barely recognize as your own. I am home. 

A frozen wind swirls up around you, a thief in the night stealing warmth from your limbs. You attempt a scream, it seems logical, but the gurgle is proof you have nothing left.

Take me you pray to the earth pressed to your cheek. I am yours.

"Rise."

One word, spoken with such command you dare not refuse. A pain wracked mind smiles hard as it sends signals to broken limbs. You feel the world spin, fading in and out of your visage as your slowly pull yourself away from your resting place. Dirt from the ground still clings to your face.

"Rise."

It is spoken again, from another place in the world. You feel it reverberate in sunken lungs as you pull to your feet. Bone grinds on bone as a stretch pulls at every corner of your body. The breath you thought was your last pours out of your mouth like smoke from a thurible.

"Rise."

It's louder now, it's words vibrating against your skin, hair lifting in anticipation. Your eyes are open, and surprise is your shell. The world around you is darkened by clouds, the distance illumnated by a smattering of lightning strikes.  You look at your hands, bruised and dirty, a life time of work.

"Rise!" The words come from your mouth, like a ragged angry breath. You feel it envigorate and full you with purpose. The word echoes around you, like wings beating in the wind. Rise the world echoes back, I am home.