I once heard a woman say,
“I would rather have thirty minutes of
Wonderful
Than a lifetime of
Nothing special.”
I once heard a man say,
“I would rather be all alone
As myself
Than around people
As someone else.”
The knowledge of who are is power.
The knowledge of who you want to be is wisdom.
The knowledge of how to get there is cleverness.
Knowledge, in any form, can be dangerous
If not used properly.
The smell of the embers
On the drive from work.
The sight of the smoke
As you get closer.
The dim hope that
There has been a mistake.
The sound of the words
Ringing in your ears.
The vision of the horror
When you finally come to it.
Your past,
Engulfed,
Enflamed,
Engorged
In a sheer disaster.
It may take many years
To find the accouterments
That fill your life.
And one solid, blazing afternoon
To see them, hear them, smell them
Charred, remnants of the past
Floating as ashes in the wind
Destination unknown.
A great sizzling reminder
Of the life you used to have.
A bountiful barbecue
Of a past life.
Yet, as you stare at the
Treachery that has befallen on you.
You think to yourself,
‘Whether I have a past or not,
I know that,
I want a future.’
I once knew a Dr.
When my heart started racing,
He could cure it.
In his own way
He could change how I felt.
Every time I felt a little low
I just had to see him.
I once knew a Dr.
He still sees me,
But, he doesn’t know
The cure anymore.
The crosshairs always find me.
It never fails,
Every time.
The scope runs across my face.
My trusting eyes,
My capable ears.
When the shot is fired,
When the bullet leaves the chamber,
It’s always a direct hit.
It lands with impact.
Will the bullets pile up?
Will I eventually explode?
Or, will the bullets end?
What should I become?
A stone?
Hard, jagged lines encasing my shell?
A mystery, a sustaining riddle?
The secrets I could keep
Hidden in the inner most part,
The heart of this stone
Where no one can reach it.
Should I become a flower?
Beauty stretched across my form?
A lifetime of love?
Only to be short lived.
To die, much too soon
To be gone from the one who
Picked me.
Shall I become the wind?
A gust of energy, a burst of happiness?
A vehicle for those who need escape?
I would take fantasies, thoughts,
The greatest desires to the
Farthest reaches of the Earth.
I could extend my hand to those
Sick, troubled, in pain.
To those, homeless, abused,
Neglected, confused.
A rock can sustain.
A flower can love.
A wind can comfort.
But, what should become of me?
