Ari

in the shadow of a minotaur

I came across a supposition.

    that the difference between a maze and a labyrinth

    is a matter of the heart.

you can get lost in a maze.

    but in a labyrinth

 so long as you go forward,

          you will find the center

if we agree with this supposition

then we must follow the red threaded question it holds

is your heart a maze

   holding captive 

      poor adventurers

incapable of solving it’s mystery

or

a labyrinth

  home to just

        the one

who put their hand to the wall

   closed their eyes

       and walked

bruised knuckles and broken toys (revised)

we trade making a scene
for quiet today
is the cessation of dreams
the price we must pay?

hold onto these words, less we forget
that a lifetime of almosts
is one of regret

the longer I live
the more that I find
the things I miss most
are the dreams left behind

not callous, not simple, not shallow or clothed
but bared and complex, deep and exposed

not careful, not silent, not restrained or delayed
but reckless and furied, freed and remade

not counting the rings in the circles I’ve walked
but remembering the falls and the chances I’ve stalked

you can promise the peace of a path well traveled and tested
and I’ll show you my scars where the best have been bested

now tell me you’re listening
and I’ll tell you this:
a life that’s worth living
is too easily missed

portal

even though it’s closed
there must be another side
to this door

I’ve never seen it open.
but I know you went through it

I think –
you lean against it
listening
for my voice

even though its closed
there must be another side
to your story.

origami


there are so many ways
for you to unfold

remember that fortune-telling game
at school
calling out numbers
and colors
to determine 
what kind of house you will live in
hut / boathouse / mansion

life would be so much
simpler
if we limited to just 
a few
options.

but anyone who has tried origami
can tell you.
even folding paper
is not simple