I walked through a forest off the beaten path
Turned around to admire the mountain from which I came
Out of the woodwork came a daemon with a push
I hadn’t seen the ledge from which I fell
Time slowed falling backwards
Looking up at all I’d lose
Crowd of people appeared on the ledge above me
Screaming advice downwards
Tossing coins and fortunate wishes
Which fall fast towards the rushing water beneath me
“We’ve all been there,” they yelled, “Be as we are.”
“See what we stand for? Stand like we do.”
Voices of fools echoed through canyons
Rippled through time
As I greeted my death with open arms
As if to grasp a ghost
My arms wrapped inward instead
Coiled up like a fetus
I hit the water like a womb
New depths of comforting silence
Sank into a hotbed of apathy
Timeless eternity
Sharp stones from the beginning of time
Rock bottom sank deep into my spine
On the riverbed I awoke
The ghost of my death spoke
“I Am. I Am. I Am.”
Will to power is redemptive
Now as then I Am choosing this
This time without doubt
Within and without
I choose life. I choose life. I choose life.
With the push of a foot
The ghost of my death
Pushed me up off of the riverbed
I emerged with a breath
On the other side of the river
Only a moment I hiked back up to another ledge
Opposite the ledge from which I fell
A few people remained still screaming fortune
Downward towards the water
I knew they couldn’t see me
They were screaming at a ghost
Their backs turned to the mountain from which they came
Afraid of falling for anyone, for anything unknown
For the leap of faith, for the push of fate
Fortune and misfortune are indiscernible
Stuck on a ledge
While life is fearlessly pushing ahead
I fear nothing here and now
I Am to resume my ascent