I am woman, man, child.
I am the peak, the cave, darkness, brilliance.
I am that which is invisible, without substance, 
a vision of nameless form present
in the body, in the senses, 
an atmosphere of bliss and profusion.
I am the empty voice of rumors
that tell everything, revealer of secrets and lies,
the throbbing pulse of a hidden life
spent in full view. You cannot control me.
I am assertion, withdrawal, giving, taking,
force of energy and creator of frenzy.
I am in your arms, under your tongue,
between your legs, in your heart so firmly
that your life is your own but your 
eventual surrender is certain. I am
your mother, your lover, your enemy,
your idea of yourself undone, made more
beautiful, more real, more of an illusion.
I am not: a thought, a phantom, a mask,
a mirage. I am what you always wanted, 
what you fear, what you don’t understand, 
what you have deep inside you 
like a world you cannot touch 
but feel constantly. I am your savior,
betrayer, ally, spy, guru, slayer.
There is nothing I do not know about you.
My throne is firm on your crown, on your face,
your penis, your lotus, I live inside you:
blood, bones, whirling atoms, filling the space
of your dissolution. Do not doubt my expanse,
do not distrust the emptiness of my presence.
You speak of me as a mystery but I have taken 
you everywhere. I am prayer, curse, vow,
the promise of experience. I steal your ideas 
and spin them off into the world without asking.
Do you know me? Sky dancer, mirror, a blinding  
ray of heat. I have transcended belief. I am simple as faith. 
Only the unknown can live beyond me and once made up 
you will think I am your mind. 

Where nothing is lost nothing is found.
Trust this.


From ‘House of the Unexpected’ (Wild Ocean Press)