Here I present to you
A single deck of cards.

I cannot tell you
which card is on top
nor the second, nor third.

But if we flip one over,
One by one,
And stack them into a new deck,
soon we will know the face
of every single card.

So let's take some time to wander
through these dark, dreary places
And we'll sift through these cards,
Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces.

A massive moth outside in the night
Flings itself at
My bathroom window.
Another Icarus
Sorely tempted by the electric light within
My house.

A swooping vulture
It tries again and again,
Fracturing its fragile wings:
Battering itself to exhaustion.

Perhaps it curses some Moth God
And feels a failure in life,
Totally frustrated
At not being able to reach its imperative goal.
Not knowing
That had it succeeded
It would now be
Incinerated.

Paul Butters

© PB 25\8\2019.

no matter how dark
    the abyss
no matter how weak
    the body
no matter how lost
    the mind
there is a way out
    to rebirth

you must believe

when they insult you
smile back
when they hurt you
smile back
they don’t matter
you matter
so smile back
you will show them all
what you are made of

the primal spirit
exists in all of us
our coding makes it so
the hunter of past
lives inside you
do not forget
your power

to take sail
with no map or compass
to let the winds of fortune
carry you to distant shores
is more courageous than
he who plans and plots
his destination

embark on activities
that build character
rather than prestige
for character will triumph
over any adversity

if you don’t play
by their rules
you can’t lose
at their game

we learn through
iteration and repetition
repetition hones your craft
iteration grows your craft