Torches stand out of the water
Like pillars at the gate of some invisible temple
And crossing their threshold
I feel nothing but the thought that
As a man thinketh...

So is my wish to have forfeited the roots of knowledge
And risen from the earth like an un-tethered soul
Disappearing somewhere between the sky
Into something more beautiful

An illusory time portal in which
I have discovered my voice in ancient blood
And stood where dreams were born
Surveying holy places
Standing in brand named shoes

Consciousness pushed up underneath me
Supported with memories and
Banal appointments that must be kept
To buy time for indulgent moments of conjecture

And I consider that, in the name of God,
Mysteries were born of life sacrificed for belief -
Beliefs long since digested by plants and trees
And exhaled in the oxygen we breathe

I burn immortality into tomorrow with indelible impressions
Nobody will ever accurately translate
A hundred years from now , or even tomorrow
Because we don’t record the truth anymore
We prefer to preserve our feelings

So the educated are tempted with imagination
Stroking their curiosity with crossed fingers
Hoping to find the key to themselves
In someone else’s reality

Not realizing the ultimate cost of vanity is death,
And that which was torn out will grow in again
With the vengeance of nappy hair
And other natural disasters

And in dawn’s quiet reflection on ancient civilizations,
Whispers from the past ride your thoughts back to you
And you know in those moments
That you are nothing more than air

May 15, 2004