Tuesday, May 31, 2022

PLAYING CHICKEN

Those mysterious judges—
all robed and rimmed 
around the outer reaches 

of the palace you know 
when you close your eyes 
as existence—have agreed:

the question
of your identity has been 
overly-determined.

Every night, 
a blind, greedy gene 
and an all-seeing eye 

are swimming ever nearer 
in your body, 
playing chicken.

And the place 
where they meet 

and the instant 
they collide 

you'll only know,
looking back 
on your life,

as the moment you stopped 
coming closer
and arrived.