THE CLOSET MYSTIC

and I have learned

that I am a being of fire

and if I do not channel the flame

with intensity

into pursuits 

of beauty and goodness

and challenge myself

each and every day

I will unwittingly burn 

the ones I love most. 

so here’s to setting myself ablaze

in pursuit of what is good and true.

and I’m doing it not just for me,

but for you, too.

…

yes,

I am a phoenix,

I am a forest,

and a wildfire.

I burn myself to the ground

each and every day,

and bloom again through the night

to do it all again,

thereafter.

…

a warrior without battles to be won

will create them where they are not needed.

how can I put it?

it is an impersonal process,

it is genetic,

instinctive,

coded.

a cat without a scratching post,

for example,

will ruin your couches.

if you don’t provide the post,

does it make the cat evil?

no,

it makes you a bad owner.

I have recognized that I have the instinct to fight

embedded in my DNA

and I choose to channel the flame

lovingly.

for there is a time and a place

for all things

I have an egalitarian outlook

to all feelings.

to condemn,

for example,

anger —

it is discriminatory.

all features of our consciousness

have their rightful place.