The True Centre

Jeff Klooger

 

the true centre
is dry as death
empty as an unkept promise

we like it that way, we pioneers
of loneliness and the soul’s
expansion

all corners of the cornerless air
are filled with the cries of dead men
the howls of solitary hunters

never mind the dangers
the best rewards come from letting go
of things you thought you couldn’t do without

lighter, less wholly human
we let our feet tread softly
on the red dust

wait patiently as spirits
of this new world
come to welcome us

setting our bodies down in the sand
we know we are at home
at rest, forgotten, free

at the end and centre of all things
our bones will lie untended
our dreams will rise like ashes