I believe now that
spirituality is destructive.
Destructive because it sweeps aside the ego,
the way a drop of rain
is flung from the sailor's brow
into the sea;
the way dust is pushed aside,
without thought,
to make a new foundation.
I believe now that
spirituality is constructive:
In the manner of placing
atop the candle's meager head
a bright crown of flame
by which he faces the dark,
uncontested
with his bold, new powers of illumination.
Religion would teach this,
but often fears it more than the rest.
Not many things have the heart
to court their own destruction...
no matter the world
that lies beyond the warm cocoon
or the insistent pressure of new wings.
