I want to staunchly defend my right to life. Abort this mission of lifelong constriction with the guileless admission that my aliveness has been in remission, as if living were the disease.
Freedom is a motivating force, the source and the end of hope. I want to bend to its flexible iron, become pliable, liable to lift off the ground, finding flight and descent both viable options, adopting a position of delightful collision with silence, a momentous joining with the moment.
There is too much goodness to bear. Still, bear with it. Allow it to unfold. The gold is hidden under piles of sludge, mounds of dung, lost and found among the ashes of the stung self. Enter that sting with instruments of healing. Follow the bee that has stung you, bumble and stumble after his humming flight until he leads you to sweet honey. Be stunned by the inner sweetness you’ve shunned.
I’m hungry, alert, on the lookout for food. I want to stay hungry, not to lunge at every passing squirrel or deer, but to wait for the big game, the sleepy-eyed moose that can wake in an instant.
The Bible on my left, the Bhagavad-Gita on my right, and my hands, poised, on the keys in between. I want to hold the west and the east within me, hold the tension of my divided being: both the one who prays for help, and the one who resists all help. There is no help for that one. There is no shelf large enough to fit the living and breathing book of the living. Open your arms, embrace this book, and begin it again.
Brian Leibold 
Wow. That’s some phenomenal wordplay while at the same time hitting a depth of insight and meaning. And so hopeful. I love this.
Incredibly rich piece. Love this take on freedom: “Freedom is a motivating force, the source and the end of hope. I want to bend to its flexible iron, become pliable, liable to lift off the ground, finding flight and descent both viable options, adopting a position of delightful collision with silence, a momentous joining with the moment.” Very insightful about its possibilities.
I looked at your picture in our guest book after reading this post. I am encouraged by your new outlook. I’m happy for you… keep on rejecting that sad-self, open up to the hopeful you.
Beautiful poetry reflecting the tensions we experience. Thanks for sharing.
This piece is so beautifully full of life ❤️🕊
Once again, in the beginning was the Word. Nonie
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
This post was soul food. Thank you, Brian!
I’m glad to hear it Claire. Thanks for reading. May we both keep watch for the big game.
I especially ❤️: “There is too much goodness to bear” and “Be stunned by the sweetness you’ve shunned.”
Thanks for reading Fran. It’s always nice to hear which lines are most affecting for a particular reader.