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Advice to Strangers
Life is short, but also - so very long.
At least, that’s how it feels sometimes, when the
strain of getting through today is no less
than the mountain of yesterday, which has
already left you sick inside your bones.
It’s the silent rule which no-one tells you,
or at least, nobody gets to tell you -
while you are floating in embryonic
fluid, luxuriating in the void -
that that simple time will come to an end.
They’ll wrench you till you’re out (despite the screams)
into a senseless world and call you senseless
for not seeing sense in their creation.
You’ll read the signs (that no-one writes) which tell
you that suffering and destitution are the norm,
with greed their master. You never asked to
be here, but the weight of expectation
compels you - as the world conspires to mould
your very essence into something more
callous, and crooked. You must resist it.
There is plenty of light, if you know which
lens to use, but oh, so much darkness to!
It can tempt you if you are not careful,
and sometimes it will. But don’t be afraid.
The missteps are as important as the
steps in this life, that teach us to rise each
time we fall. You’ll need two things to keep you
sane. The first is a vehicle: the ‘thing’
to weather the storm. The second is a
purpose, a ‘reason’ to weather that storm.
The ‘thing’ is you,
body, mind and soul.
The ‘reason’ is yours
to find
and make you whole.
