257. Dead End (Myshkin, 2023) · couplets

The path I chose is coming to an end It’s hard and getting harder to pretend That “I” am right, and smart, and strong… Illusion shatters that I might belong To anything that isn’t born in light… And I can’t even argue, scream or fight. So small, and stupefied to somehow see I never knew what was or wasn’t me. I’ve also lived enough to feel some hope Another path to which I might elope “Just leave behind all things you ever knew, Embrace the larger self that isn’t you!” This path has nature, silence, much less gold, Requires more integrity, I have been told. You walk through scary-dark that chills the bone And closet skeletons come out and say “Atone!” And on the other side, when “you” come out, The elders say your life is inside out. You have humility and grace, and live to serve, As you hang back and everything observe.