never ever ever
******* give up
keep learning
keep loving people
and all living things
keep comforting
keep enjoying nature
the greatest tides can turn
no one knows what is around the bend
let all that has beauty
and peace
consume your mind
and shoulders
releasing the fight
completely

quiet dormant sleeping lion
a great story, in us all
ferocity caved copper chains
unshared passion, safe and small

break a father's glass ceilings down
operate in truer laws
let not society cage t' beast
conjure up your wild claws

pensively breathe
as the breeze - pleases -
subtle dancing summer leaves
of the mother, a ritual
call out the soul
from dna truths
drop tribal rue
back to air to lung to soothe

Backroom deals
And basement squeals
Sacrificed morals
For comp'd meals

Sacrifice of soul
To gain its full
And the whole world
Unworthy the toll

Palpable grin
Over a dark within
Forfeit to shallows
And a life too thin

All mystery
Is prone to interpretation
So grab it by the jowls
To the roar awakened

Don't, for a second,
Believe your familiarity equal
To the obsessed appreciator
Because you studied the author
Or painter, in school
How vague the prefrontal cortex, the memorization of Wikipedia (or generation Encyclopedia Britannica) or MFA syllabus bullet points
Focused on the minute details of joyful
Operatic beauty personification were you?
Or the mark delivered by a professor
The essay, the test?
Or the cute one in the class?
Or the one which your over-achieving spirit must compete?
Brilliance discovered in work you GET  outside of such demands is a stark difference indeed

Brood to face the fear
Chief restrainer of create
To work that matters more
Dual directors of all fate

Both exchanges guide
To the very steps that lead
Potential’s portion pours
An opulent elixir bleed