Thursday, May 23, 2019

To Rest in the Forest

To Rest in the Forest

Here will lie Zachariah
For the first time and perhaps the only time
His bodily momentum eventually slowed
The undulations and oscillations some day reverted to the horizon
Flat, and level; still, and peaceful
The opposite of the terrain he craved
Of the state he sought while upright
Teaching himself time and time again to love
Whilst raging on, in every direction
Wandering and wondering and wishing always
For that perfect victory to end all victories
The triumph over all, even his mortal self.

For what is love he too slowly learned
But time and toil, talk and tribulation
It’s pondering unlocking his soul
If only for a few minutes or hours
Before the next eruption
If words to some are a boundary
Deeds the grains to color it in
To Zachariah they are portals
Passages from one wisdom to another
From one experiment to the next
His words are quickly history echoing behind
His deeds haunt him, burning in his wake
Driving him onward lest he be consumed.

Warmed are we who love his trail of fire
Singed as we struggle to keep up
Those that accept his Sagittarian bargain
May grow tall through the years
Like great trees in an ancient forest
Scarred from fiery seasons, but nourished too
From the font of energy and wildness
The many adventures and varied terrain
The spontaneous twists and turns
As he pulls us through this life
Surfing on a still pond beside a pasture
Transforming a branch with a bit of rope
Climbing to the top of every tree, tower and hill.

For Zachariah is movement and flow
Clarifying and carving the stones around him
If a purpose in life is to master one’s self
His purpose is certainly great
Through so many portals now
He has come to build as well as he burns
Uncovering bedrock that does not ignite
Though tamed he may never fully be
And caged he may partly ever feel
In philosophy he finds some solace
One day his ultimate victory awaits
To look back and see not flames behind or others beneath
But the great forest he has nurtured,

In which he might finally come to rest.