122

with each greeting his sense of responsibility
grew beyond its already infinite proportions

fortunately he saw this not as a burden
but as a blessing

.

121

each morning
with the first word
silence began

.

120

the days tended to slip away, and once again the dark had crept up on
him. staring into it he mustered his courage, firm in the belief that if
he could get past the inevitable feeling of futility he would be able to
catch a glimpse of the truly useless.

.

119

the barbarians weren't at the gate
they were within

always had been

so who was it that he had been battling all these years?

.

118

one, three or thousands
in the end not even the number
of skies would matter

.

117

even something as straightforward
as slicing a loaf of bread
could be overwhelming

so he set down his knife
and let the light cut through him instead

.

116

it was tempting to conclude that
all were just blisters on the void

.

115

breach
or light stretched taut
still the abyss
glorious

.

114

each note was played
on a broken string

.

113

though guilt was typically crushing
he thrived in simple regret


.

112

trusting no one
he had nowhere to turn
but the sky

.

111

moments of indecision
tended to be those
most pregnant with possibility

and hence were often
the most lucid

.

110

windowless
doorless
his home was many
and none

.

109

the most critical questions
he answered
not intellectually
but with his actions
or more importantly his inaction

.

108

then there were those stretches
sometimes days or weeks
when though still vivid
all seemed muffled
by the weight of the familiar

.

107

thoughts too had their forensic use:
to delicately dust for clues
of a missing self

.

106

tainted by the sun
he caught a glimpse
of what fed his sight

.

105

he thread his way
between the unacceptable
and the impossible

yet drove headlong into...

.

104

his life being a form of crude via negativa,
it was only through pain that he learned
not to confuse the abyss of the wound
with selflessness.

.

103

one day
while out taking a stroll
he paused midstride
unblinking
his breath apparently suspended

after what seemed a brief dispersal
he resumed his saunter
noting with typical lack of concern
that the unremarkable
often had such an effect

.