Myth from a Man Adrift

author’s note:

I recently heard an interview with a poet who said he’d decided not to use metaphor.  Ever.

To that I say: if there’s an ocean raging inside me, I’m going to tell you there’s an ocean raging inside me.


MYTH FROM A MAN ADRIFT

Our conflict began
when the first cell
--maddened
   by all the forces within
   struggling for expression--
broke in half.

The two cells born from this breakage
then jockeyed for position--
both wanted to rule.
The heat of their friction
caused each to boil then break
and when they broke they broke
in half.

So then there were four
which only increased the fever of conflict.
Soon, the four split into eight
then that eight split into sixteen--
thirty-two--sixty-four--
on and on and on it went.

As we fought one another
temperatures rose steadily.
Nonetheless, we would not stop.
And so, we kept on splitting.

As a result
today the oceans swell and swirl with heat--
waters out of control devour the shore.
I believe in short time, we’ll be overwhelmed--
--unmoored--adrift--no land in sight.
We’ll lack stable points of reference.

In the sea
you might think you’re stationary
as you bob up and down
only to discover one day
you’ve gone hundreds
or even thousands of miles.

You don't tell the current what to do
the current tells you:
so be prepared for your ego to erode.
I say so because I know--
I floundered for years.

Searching for stability
I began to expand my feelers
downward and upward
but also outward
through the waters--

I can now I feel my feelers connecting
with the feelers
of myriad others also drifting--
also stretching--also searching
for connection.
This network could eventually unite us all
as we try to keep ourselves afloat
over the ruins of a sunken world.

I believe our hearts

will all beat in-synch then.
We’ll be back where we began:
we’ll know ourselves to be one.

But of course, the original cell
wasn’t really at peace with itself.

What will we decide to be
when the waters cool?--
when the oceans subside?--
when we’re back on solid land?
Will we begin to split apart again?

Or will we each
work to make peace
with all those forces of life
stirring and struggling inside
the human heart?

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