There is a time beyond control...

There is a time beyond control

when even what is best in us

is not enough.

There is a broken

hardness of heart—

in the world and myself.

There is a darkness

and a “refinement”

when the shine is all that's left.

There is a rootedness to life

An earthiness

A place and time

a weight of bones and ligaments

hemmed in by skin

Susceptible to war and plague

A world congealed

where things must bend

and must depend on other things

There is a givenness to life;

not summarized by either

self-discovery or denial.

There is beauty all mixed up

with the daily inconvenience

of decorum.

And love depends

on promises

kept through circumstances unforeseen.