i : strung together : i

strung together…

impressions of matter
emotion
sensation

pressures great enough to forge the synaptic response
binding the moments to reveal a presence

some residual glimpse of the self

i am lost otherwise…

awash in the sea of change
no anchor, no wish, no worry
perhaps free…

at times a smile, at times a tear

though i am not here
i do not exist without them

with them i imagine

what lay beneath
between
among the labyrinth of gaps

they unfold as do the petals of a fresh blossom

beginning as a seed
a root
a stem

bifurcating into infinity
countless blossoms and leaves to catch the passing sun

they are many and few together

some painted
others in stark contrast

they are sound
sensation

the cool wind on a summer day
passing between the branches

they are the heartbeats of my lovers
the breath as i lay there in the night

forgotten they do not ail me

their burdens cannot be felt
yet they remain

stones upon the floor

remembered they move me

they make me
they bind me to myself

push – pull

i am at their feet

willingly and not

perhaps they are only for me to know

perhaps they are shared and i am not alone

perhaps they themselves are living

certainly they grow when watered
they bloom when the seasons turn
they wilt when the cold wind blows
when the sunlight descends from the sea above
when the time has come

and so i sleep…

there they dance

they dance when i am not watching
they play as i pay little attention

when i am at rest

they give, they share, they tell stories to one another

they imagine those things that i cannot

occasionally i wake among them

and as they dance i follow

in their sea i am tossed about
a ship on the open ocean

if i am careful…

if i am quiet…

if i am present and aware

i can watch them
as if i have found some shelter
some island away from the breaking waves

and from there

i can see clearly
something greater

the roots, the seeds
the endless surface of blossoming plains

something remains

true

from here the clam waters reflect the moon

the moment opens and a timeless place is home

this is where i build my well

this is the place from which i draw my water

but today i am lost

an explorer in search of new lands

building maps to home