^z 13th February 2023 at 8:54pm
| My risky choices tiptoe into town: They creep across the plaza like a fog And glide through intersections, silently As ghosts which drift from pools of dark to dark, Where streetlights fail and shadows under trees Cling hard to night long after risen sun. My hazards come, at first unrecognized. They smile, shake hands, make conversation light — And so I welcome them into my home. Just as a swimmer strokes out one last time, Not feeling tired yet, nor knowing fear; Just as a hiker in the forest climbs Up one more hill to reach the summit view; Just as a pilot skirts the edge of storm To make the destination's scheduled stop; Just as an erstwhile lover presses on Past hesitant objections, asking more Than what the other is yet poised to give .... So step by tiny step I venture out From harbor's safety toward the foaming reef. And all along the way there is no sign, No tipping point, no knee, no line to cross. The gradient is imperceptible, Continuous and smooth as down I slide — Until the spider's silk clings, cloys, winds, wraps. My desperate struggles only tangle more, And self-selected doom embraces me. |
Sunday, August 13, 2000 at 20:08:41 (EDT) = 2000-08-13
(correlates: MoreFunLessStuff, SuVexation, Trouble Is My Business, ...)