I've trodded
this entire state
looking for simplicity
and a warm fireplace
but modern life
is arduous
and it delays

It has forgotten that
community blooms
where we sow patience,
fear only ceases
when we embrace it

So to seek outward
is a fool's errand,
and here I am, a fool like the rest,
thinking about one foot forward
and blaming sorrow
on lack of progress
when peace resides in each moment
where we finally resist
the push to be more
than a miracle
that shouldn't even exist

If that isn't enough
then nothing ever will be:
I've spent my life
giving up everything
and the more I let go, the more it hurts,
but at the same time, there is growth,
and in wake of
this understanding
was an emptiness that
made me feel whole

An obvious sign
that there is still nothing
to be afraid of
in the pull of the unknown

It doesn’t sit right—
not anymore
the way three chairs
got up and left
without even
looking back—
it’s not right
when nothing is left.

I set a plate
anyway
push the salt closer—
just the right seasoning
for food
and wounds
left open—

It doesn’t sit right—
alone—
having leftovers
left and right
with a table
left standing—
It doesn’t sit right
when a table
can’t even talk back.