We, two

Two, as we are, collected in embrace
Both bent softly at the knees,
Unstable and leaning,
Asking of the other's strength

Two, as we are, children, hurt and guarded
With spiked hands
One on the throat, one on the mouth
So desperate to be loved on our terms

Each master and servant to heart and head,
To the dirty will of man and the
Perfection of God
Each a saint in hope,
And a felon in practice

So flawed, we, to pretend this trust in such tragic misdirection
The frayed, holey map drawn left-handed in darkness
Laid out is our clumsy path, slow, blurred and useless
Sought on foot, on hand, backwards, sideways, without a plan

In the maunder, we listen to the words manifest
Though our blessed hearts cry...
So ironical.
So dense with weight, and so empty of wisdom
So longing for a sovereign guide

To feign assignment, surely a joke
To elect the other as its leader
To silently empower and not employ
Two stupid to release the door,
Two proud to invite inside

But ha! we, bereft of fallacy
We know it all! to be sure,
Only in translation do we hear
The tabloid nature of our truths,
Our maxims, our sturdy philosophies

These are violent gaps in us,
Where the darkness rules into madness,
Where our blessed hearts are forever crying
As we laugh out loud in celebration
Of how very right we must be!

For what other way can we be but right?
Without "right," we are left naked,
Exposed in our embarrassment
Ashamed that our hands grip no strength,
Disappointed that when the fingers close,
The truth escapes ethereal

And yet we, bereft of humility, fighting for ignorance,
The everlasting, hard fight for the same.

But this is we as we are... as you and me.

I contemplate this wish:
That I may open my arms to you
Even with such mystery out there, and so dark
Is the mystery a terror, should be simply unexplored?

And will your hands open to meet mine?

I cannot will you to join me here,
Deep in the unknown real
I can only offer my hand to hold,
My body to protect, my heart to love
My strength to keep you standing.

So then, may I, too, need to lean?
In my newness, I am unstable in my strength
And so strong, yet bending.

Yet this is the eternal truth ...

Together we are sound in embrace
Both bent softly at the knees,
Imperfect and learning,
For each is the other's strength.