Earth is composed of shadows,
and they are all gathered here,
shaking hands around me, but
my back shall not bend and
I shall not bow.
My friend Mediocrity is present, I see,
and I tilt my head in a nod,
inquire about his health,
but fail to embrace him.
Normalcy has appeared as well,
and on him I linger,
remembering the comfort he gave me
when no one else could.
It pains me to do it, but I depart once more,
with a glance back and a sad smile,
the one only comrades can share.
Failure tips his hat to me–
still I wander by,
leaving the shadows with the shadows
and searching for the light
I've heard humming in the distance.
I cannot stop for these darknesses.
They may be family to some,
but not I.
Not I.
I will throw myself to the wind
and trust it to take me to the sun,
and he, my brother, will show me
to the moon, my sister, and she and I
will laugh and sing and dance
until we are all we know of each other,
and I will die on a drunken
boat ride
with my face in the water
and my arms outstretched,
reaching to pull Sister Moon's reflection
into my welcoming grasp–
family that cannot be embraced.
And death will not be regrettable,
for though it came,
it came by casting off the shadows
and falling for the light.