Keep Rolling
by Astara Raven
Inspired by Julie Jenowe’s tumbleweed art and Kate Bush’s song “Snowflake”
Embraced by dirt.
Encouraged by light.
Nourished by a cloud.
Born of soil, sun, water, and air
I’m the success story of any seed.
I found my home and grew.
Now I contain a multitude,
200,000 seeds strong.
I don’t know yet
that changing temperatures
and wind
are ready to set me
on my best adventure.
Unlike other bushes,
I’m not meant to stay.
The cold arrives,
emptying me of color.
I dry.
I die.
You wouldn’t know it
from looking at me,
brown, brittle, unbearably light —
my death is my second life.
A strong breeze pressures me,
Come on, try your first twirl.
Unsure, I grip the ground.
Autumn doesn’t hold back,
she whistles between closed teeth,
blowing like a jazz musician,
pushing and pushing me,
until that one last snap.
Uprooted, I let go of everything.
I wave goodbye
to this stem,
this terrain,
these roots.
Unmoored now, flying.
Gravity brings me
out of symmetry.
I am a live wire.
My twirl weaves a new geometry.
Copper crown cascading,
moon lotus glimmering.
I am sand.
I am sky.
The world is so vast.
Keep rolling.
I’ll find you.
The compact dust is my dance floor.
Spiraling then resting,
the air breathes my rhythm.
My ancestors were incredible dancers.
They whisper,
You know how to do this.
Sowing sovereign seeds,
I lay down dream fields
everywhere I go.
Look up and you’ll see me.
The world is so vast.
Keep rolling.
I’ll find you.
My woven dance.
My surrender song.
I am a seed shaker tumbling life
as each gust directs me.
I don’t resist.
The wind’s choreography
moves me,
a pirouette of generosity
across the earth.
My ancestors whisper,
the best way to compete,
is to dissolve competition
all-together.
I long to dance as they did,
for they knew how to cross an ocean.
I am light.
I am air.
The world is so vast.
Keep rolling.
I’ll find you.
Enjoy Astara reading this poem live at Harvester Gallery in Council Bluffs on May 2, 2026.
