Words Conjured Into Being: freedom in this life & 99 is not 100

freedom in this life

if i had nothing

if i had nothing to lose

and nothing to gain

would i still rise and shine

on dreary mornings

would i still find sweetness

in the space of your caress

would i still till gardens

and ride with no hands

if i could forgive myself

run into the water

and pour barrels of wine

downstream

i would be

less

of a conflicted man

saved by the soul of ripe figs

no longer harnessed to the plea

—-

99 is not 100

is it privilege

that defies us

the idea that we are better than

someone else

more worthy than

something else

is this how we can forget

the faces drawn in red dirt

the skin scarred with unluckiness

the eyes simply drawn in

the hand out reaching

is it a matter of conscious neglect

that we forget where our food comes from

and where our garbage goes to

the sunrise is not sunset

and the cumulus ideas

in our heads

are not the truth

we must draw ourselves out

reach out a hand

and remember