tears aren't enough

the fiery furnace just below

even tears aren’t enough:

consciousness, amid the glory 

that the universe seems to so casually express,

should always lead to soul-shaking awe,

we talk and talk as if to build protective calluses around us: 

cocoons of words to shield us 

from the wrenching power that is true to every moment,

as the sun sets, clouds wrap around us

and weave darkening shades of grey to hold us in,

I linger after others have gone,

I work to see and feel how every branch and stone

is the center of the universe,

as if everything depends 

on one wind shaped branch of fir before me,

I sob as my soul softly touches 

the enduring beauty of the microcosms around me,

and how transient my being here can be,

I often need the calluses so I can keep moving through a day,

I also need to at least briefly touch the fiery furnace just below.

by Henry H. Walker

August 3, ’13