Tuesday, October 27, 2015

A Message To Loss As I Enter The Next Chapter





Dear Loss,

There are some things
I need to say to you as
I embark on life's next
big shift. Listen well.

I am not afraid of you.
I am not afraid of your
past collections, your
swift blows to the ground.

I am not afraid of your
threats delivered through
the caring words of others
Be careful. I just don't 
want to see you get hurt.

It's true: I thought I may
dig a hole in the dirt.
Lie there. Live there. Line up
my stones to cast at anyone
who approaches. Loss knows 
you are here! Stay away.
Stay away from me.

But I was wrong. Who
was I to know what
would be left when you
turned your attention
elsewhere?

This is who is left, and
again I implore you to listen
and listen well:

I am not afraid of you
and your ability to take away.

I am astounded by what
rushes into the spaces you created.

I am not afraid of your certain
endings, your vast creativity in
making sure it is so.

I am, with the knowledge that
you eventually come for all things,
ready to loosely hold onto what
is given before you take.

I will not give the world
a duller, quieter, more fearful
version of myself in your shadow.

I will see you there, ready to
pounce in your own time, and
I am not afraid of you.

I will trace lines on the palms
of friends and trace lips on the
face of a lover and trace evolutions
on the stories of family and

I am not afraid of you or your
threats to take them from me.
From this world. From themselves.

I am not afraid of you.

My ability to love and tear
open and regenerate and love
again and open arms wide to
the recipients of my alljoy
is Greater than You.

I will not hide from wild
love it all its forms. I will
not hide from sudden and
prolonged bursts of joy.
They are of me and they
always return.
I am not afraid.

Instead, I will face the things
love light joy creative
and I will remind myself
You are not here yet. You are
not here yet. You are not here.
Yet.




My Best Fall

fall for
fall in love
fall short
fall down
fall apart

dip, dive, down, drop, fall, nosedive, plunge

my best fall
fell
fell short
fell down
fell apart

i prefer these days to climb

climb up
climb over
climb into
climb across
climb towards

arise, ascend, lift, mount, rise, soar

I will not fall in love
blindly
skipping across a hole
unseen

I will see it there
majestic and promising
and climb up to its peak