defeating the lion, he enters the gate
and upon reaching the tree
the serpent swallows the apple

with whispering eyes he speaks -
"fear not" as the feathers sprout
displacing glimmering scales

the earth-bound is released
strong wings lift the slithering skyward
his flat view of the world annihilated

ouroboros halos appear like shadows
forever attached but never owned
he sees the world  impaled on herself

and now, freed from eden
he enters the garden of the mother
and knows that he and she are one

the bitter fruit of the blessed tree
transformed the snake into an eagle
reborn, he sees the world anew

the sleeping god awakens
opening the heart gate
of unrefined love as
he watches her protect
the children of the earth

she groans in slow frustration
knowing she can't do more
bound by shackles forged
in the cold fires of disbelief
by her self-absorbed offspring

blinded by an unattainable horizon
they look to the sky for guidance
not understanding that
the help they desperately need
embraces them where they stand

so the time-bound round continues
the ebb and flow of seas and love
the rise and fall of leaders and nations
the mountains that once were valleys
in this place only circles live forever

this mountain made of limestone
limestone that long ago comprised
it comprised an ancient seabed
the seabed became desert
and the desert became mountain
the mountain reaches for the sky
but the sky withholds her rain
and rain’s metamorphic power
is power that the desert craves
craves like a lover lost
lost in the cruel cycle of time
but time brings evolution
and evolution the mountain knows
she knows that it’s her lover
and her lover never left her
never left her all alone
alone in the cycle of time
so in time she has faith
faith that she will once again
once again become an ocean
an ocean full of rain