Without Ourselves

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

We are grateful to Rupali Bhuva for offering this hand-made painting for this reading.

A clear glass orb floats
above the cliff
just off the edge
representing our conscience, souls, and selves
what if it shatters?

becoming a puzzle of icy glass
and then nothing at all?

what if it disappears?
what would we fight for?
would we still know ourselves
for the loving,
backstabbing,
beautiful,
horrible,
emotional,
heartless,
empathetic,
shunning,

wonderful people we are?
could we go on without ourselves?
without a foothold?

step lightly, they say
don’t leave your self like a scarf in the forest
like a sandal on the beach
tuck it in safe

don’t free it
don’t lose it
don’t go without a railing

but could we be more
without the limits
of our own selves?

if we could take the risk
would we end up not being in trouble after all?

would we be freeing ourselves
by letting go of our SELVES?

we’d have identity
of what we know
and what we’ve learned
but not the burden
of the world.

---

Afton Wilder is a 10 year old, who recently started a blog of her poems.