Barely awake with tangled thoughts
around hurt
around pain
reaching around
for the energy of presence
Barely awake with tangled thoughts
around hurt
around pain
reaching around
for the energy of presence

Tasting the starched fullness of expectation
I die poisoned by the truth of being
always less than
always not enough
always me.
The beauty of a sunset along the Appalachian gaps
reminds me that I wish no one ill
Yet then its shining point annoys
I squint
and the glare strains my soul
I shout
“go hide in the valley and die out”
no patience
no presence
and in that breath
I have struck an edge
from life to death


the wounding is the same
self inflicted in moments perceived through lenses lost in time
birthing shame
eternal scenes rehearsed to protect a shattered soul from love scorned
beholding fear
so taught by mothers and mother’s mothers until each is carried
beyond this
gasping





What of the rage within that swells?