Self-Care

Wake at 4:30
And send your partner out
into the dark new day.
Morning yoga begins,
Sun salutation before the sun
is awake.
Stretch out those muscles,
tired at the ripe young age of 30.
Sitting supported
peacefully the word escapes your lips:
Om.
Still not sure of its translation,
but the meaning grows deeper
And as you recite the prayers you’ve repeated for years
your warm heart opens to the love of god,
as if for the first time.
Your hand slowly reaches across your chest
to feel the peace in your heart,
or to hold it there,
if only for a few moments.
As you walk on the treadmill to the
morning videos,
you wonder where your medal is-
the glittery grand prize you earned this morning for taking such good care
of your body and spirit and now thru the writing,
your mind.
It feels good to love and be open to this heart.
You’ve always heard that it starts with loving yourself,
though foreign as the word "om" or "coeur",
the meaning grows deeper.

Caryn Fogel's Questions:

1.  Does the poem lose its focus (or have any to begin with)?

2.  Would it be better in the first or third person - instead of saying 'you', saying 'I' or 'she' ?

3.  Is the repeating of the line 'the meaning grows deeper' effective in bringing emotion to the piece?