a psyche stress test

of worth, even alone?

like my body, my psyche needs a stress test:

I immerse in connection after connection

and know myself as spouse,

as parent,

as grandparent,

as friend,

as he who orchestrates the wholeness of our togetherness,

I am of value because I do,

who I am of value because we touch

and the touch makes me larger,

and then all leave, by ones and twos and threes and fours,

and finally, today, it’s time for my wife,

the other half of who I most feel myself to be,

to wend her way back to our home,

I feel time today as loss,

and I am again a cartoon character over an abyss, 

legs churning until I realize I’m alone,

will I fall or

will I connect enough with my own self

to feel of worth even alone?

I tested myself by biking miles up the valley today,

and I joyed in the descent:

every day can be a test of body and psyche,

may the river of my life flow well.

by Henry H. Walker

August 8, ’13

thanks to Google Images for cartoon image