Survivors
I do worry about
planting a cactus in the New England woods
and hauling mangroves that practically live under water
out to the Mojave
but this is what we ask of ourselves
to drink when we aren’t thirsty
and to act like
we aren’t praying for rain
I do worry about
the time we spend building boats to climb
and thinking we can walk on water
in hiking boots
it’s not that we’re delusional
it’s that we’re survivors
who place faith in things
that don’t deserve it
we dance like this
for a long time
because only fools
would stand still on hot coals
we move quickly
and convince ourselves
that it doesn’t hurt
that it’s just another elimination round to pass
one day
we will stop
pretending to love the dirt
when we were meant for water
we will stand still over the heat
and scream and tell each other
how much it hurts
to be on fire
we will stop bluffing
and play the hand that ends the game
we will stop waltzing the survival dance
and tango with our sacred one
we will feel like prickly pears
in a thicket of ferns
refusing water
so there’s more for them
it will feel like
being in the right vessel
for this world
and we won’t look back
