~

He, with speed, once descended

beyond reach of the voices echoing his name

~

He fell into a charnel river, its current carrying

him out to sea where, becalmed or turbulent,

He could find no sleep, no relief.

~

Assuming the contours of nebulous complexity

In despair he sank deeper into this watery world

which loosened the skin that bound him to lost memory

~

Sleek and facile now, he glided with a grace that was genuine

belying the anchor that weighted his heart

Until drawn by a patient star he swam in the shallows

where one day he was tempted ashore.

Too long untouched by sleep he emerged on dry land

with a prayer on his lips anointing the sand with his tears and sorrow.

~

Blessed by engagement with sadness he listened

his heart beat in cadence

with an emergent compassion

his prayer now in sync with the blighted terrain

he began to feel this sorrow was shared

Of a single heart ever beating

~

With a mind accustomed to formulating events and endings

Closer and closer he circled towards this endless wellspring

his newly trusting heart cycling up and down the mountain of tension

creating momentum and joining these opposites

~

Holding his own

between speed and a still point of being

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Art: Alice Wellinger