the way & the means

when all your pleadings &
negotiations have exhausted
themselves––

& life as you knew
it has been
wrenched out of your
hands––

your ego wants

to stand nakedly &
fight with broken fingernails
to stay alive––

for every breath to be
courageous

what seems
heroic righteousness
does not matter
to the wisdom
of heaven––

the love of your
life &
the flickering blue
flame you cannot
see
is enough
to guide you through
the dark
& drain the reflex anger from
your pain––

you imagine/you feel your
chest & your guts
de-constructing into quivering
blankness &
somehow you are
unafraid––

the tensile strength
of the heart
is invincible

every cell in this
body knows
the way

to follow the flow
of the river &
the morphing
earth

let your mind
spill into the
sky before you
die––

the known unknown
that is your
home

ride the waves of
inspiration between
the circling planets &
the fiery stars

you are nothing &
everything &
hope––

& simply, & for now,
a man alive