Daily Archives: February 4, 2003

Chiaroscuro

Nothing holds a shape without its shadow:
that place at the edge where the lines are rough
and sharp defined shapes blur in a limbo
made of innuendo and the small stuff

that in shades of gray, fills up silent space,
shifting with the slightest movement of light
to redefine the angle of a face,
moving what was once unseen into sight.

Although the bright surface catches the eye,
reflecting color and initial form,
in the absence of light a thing is made.

In the dark essence, lurking there behind
those sunlit curves and corners of the norm,
the universe’s palette is arrayed.

04 FEB 2003

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Personal Responsibility

Where we are right now is the end result
of all the choices made throughout our days;
and while we blame the universe, the fault
is mostly our own. The universe pays

in the same currency we freely spend
(often on credit without awareness
of the huge debt we will owe in the end).
It must be said, though, in all fairness,

when we ask the universe for a thing,
that we offer what we hope is a fair
trade, but don’t really have any clue
of its opinion of our reckoning;
shunning our sacrifice, it looks elsewhere,
taking in its own coin balances due.

04 FEB 2003

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