crawling along
on my ceiling
who just startled
me out of my
impotent brooding:
I've decided
(for the moment)
to permit you
to live—
but only for as long
as you continue
to remind me
that I too,
in the past, have
maintained the ability
to remain calm
and silent
while I'm
inching toward the goal
in an upside-down world
which is loathe
to acknowledge
that in order
to change
their circumstance,
some would
risk it all.
