orison

to be happy

a man has to go farther than he can imagine

from any place he knows

it takes scars

better yet,

it takes sharing those scars

late at night

when the power gets turned down low

by the burn of blackouts

around and around the table of time

we swap stories and spit and gifts and pain

It is far easier

to escape into the dark

than to gather around a fire

to stagger in awe, drunk on truth

I do not worship money and things

I idolize people

and pray at the altar of life learned

traditions are the things that we do always

to help us know that we are enough