5 March 2006, 1:04 AM
Reaching hard for lumps of coal
I miss the diamond You set so gently before me
glowing
reflecting
refracting perfection
blazing with divinity
within my reach
Clambering in soot
I miss more than the gem
as evidenced by clumsy fumbling toward the treasure
I finally behold
Thinking that I know
believing I may grasp at will all that lies within my reach
my hands meet infinite value glittering on my skin
Lost in ecstasy of having claimed
my prize I fail to heed
the heat which sears my fingers clasped so tightly
for fear of losing what I've found
The smell of burning flesh brings me to my senses
Reflex takes its place
I drop the stone and for the first time I wonder
do I want it?
Do I really want to hold the earth in my hands
For meekness will deliver it
but not before it burns from my person every part
not in keeping with attaining the prize
"Death is in the cost"
and if I will not be burned
my inheritance is forfeit
"Death is in the cost" taken from Wendell Berry.
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