The thing about being on here on earth
is that there are always openings
to peer into other lives,
backwards or forwards in time

Sometimes we stare in one direction
for far too long;
maybe we saw something terrible
and can't bring ourselves to look away

The world must have great faith in us,
it must feel that we are ready
to balance the great responsibility
of looking

In the end what we saw
may not be as important
as where we chose to look

The strongest force of nature
is the desire to love

But just barely

Like when addiction
tries to keep things buried

Or when pain tries to retaliate
Or when sadness feels inescapable

But love always lingers in the background,
in the warm center of our bodies

Waiting patiently
for us to make the choice

The goal of all good art
is to make the world seem more
and more impossible

Like after staying indoors for weeks
and weeks, you wander outside one night
and behold the hovering moon

It glows like it's full of thousands, millions
of spirits

At the same time it is so singular,
and so quiet

It stirs the ancient memory
so that one feels the weight of time
and the simple blessing
of one's own existence

 Sometimes I feel like small stories
are the most valuable

The small chances of hope or pleasure
found day-to-day

The smaller the better,
the more you're scratched and clawed

your way into the strangest nook
and found something wonderful

hidden there;
the better

Faith is the glory found
in accepting the unprecedented
kindness embedded
in the universe

I want to wave the banner
that shows the epiphany,
the revelation that, once understood,
provides unflinching impetus

But understanding is loose,
it morphs along with the pressures
and inconsistencies
of the world

So the best wisdom stays hidden
like a thin fishing line in the ocean
it sways and moves in the currents,
sometimes stays wound up
on its reel

The safest way to restore peace
is to unsweep it from under the carpet,
pull the string hanging from the lightbulb,
clean the windows

I want to say that there is comfort
in all sorts of places
but I cannot show it to you

I want to point to a place in my mind
from which I feel infinitely lucky

I want to bring some sort of treasure
back from the unknown
so that the swirling currents of life
appear intricately connected to the heart

So that love becomes something tangible
So that the world feels pleasant, and unmatchable