joshua mertz's Shared Poems

To he who would live in that cabin
At the top of the mountain
Reveling in the endless view of all things
Above the clouds
Above all pain and hatred
Who would live in the shining sun
In that humble cabin
The wood taken from the sacred grove
Polished by the ethereal touch
Of good intentions
Know this:
The sun will burn you
The vista will become pale
And the quietude a burden
This cabin
At the gasping heights of aspiration
Is meant to be only visited
Write poetry here, make love
Walk the forest of dreams
Polish the wood of this sacred house
With your glowing heart
Then go home

The air here is too rarified to sustain life
The grandeur is blinding
The ground has hidden stones
And there are snakes
Go home
Gather up the love
And the visions
And take the rugged path home
Plant your dreams
In the rich earth below
Water them with your tears

The pain of healing
Is the pain of life
The ache of an opening flower
The struggle of an old cat
Getting back up onto a warm bed
The smile of a child
That you know will become
Only more poignant with time
Time is the scalpel
That opens the wound of life
And simultaneously heals
As an old cat
Purrs at the foot of the bed

To say you are sorry
Is not weakness
It is a giving
That I see you
In the heavenly light
Of selfless love
Or merely that I
Have moved beyond hate
Or that there is more to the sea
Than just water and waves

In pain we think of kindness
The knife that brings the wound
Is a healing touch
Fire to the skin and blood
Pain screaming through the
Bones and muscle and
The heart that pumps love
Blossoming into the burning wound
Of surgery

I thank the hand that
Wields the knife
That brings the pain
Of healing
And think of all the
Pain I have brought to others
Hoping they can heal
As these torn muscles heal

It is to you
The woman I have loved
For this past quarter century
That I wish to apologize
For the cruel knife of change
For the end of our time
And for the love that drains away
Like pain from a wound
It is for you
And this inevitable leaving
That I wish to wash the world
With kindness

They are going to cut me open
And scrape my bones
Looking for some remnant of youth
Grown over by a calcified heart
Smothered by a spine
Grown uncaring

They are going to cut me open
And scrape my bones
Then leave me in a narcotic doze
In hopes of
Dreaming the boy inside me
Back into the world