The Wall
Infinitely altitudinous ancestral ashlar compact sedimentary stones fused with sinewy mucilage Gazing upward hands pressed against the cold wondering what lies on the other side in perpetuum A diurnal practice of decision dare I climb walk to the end remain stoic in reverence to the bastion built for me I remain unmoved nearly petrified, trapped in the sediment I’m sustained by curiosity and fear not knowing which will tip the scales like beads on an abacus each neuron calculating risks and repercussions Time begins to move in ways that can longer be measured I move from merely cowering to the walls prowess to inquiring of its origin studying each layer, texture crevice, eroding shale undoubting its fortitudinous presence I confidently know this wall intellectually understand it but my feelings do not change I reveled in my nadir I cannot remain here much longer the darkness has evaporated my fervor my skin is grey and beginning to resemble the wall’s surface I do everything I can to protect my heart from the calcification yet I remain in unrelenting pursuit of deciphering the wall before it defeats me until that day a stone, cracked, crumbled a chisel, sharp like an arrowhead fell to my feet the shattered piece begged to be gripped A shank produced by igneous fission I held onto it deciphering its importance I examined the wall like I always had nothing else changed but the one piece I claimed My finger tips traced across the reveled layer of stone softly and slowly pressing hesitantly at the slightest imprint the stone seemed to move In all the times that I thought and thought and thought about this wall I never questioned what would happen if it changed or if I willfully altered it I held the shank and touched the softened stone what knowledge would this give me a boundless ineludible labyrinth wicked monsters raring to devour molten fire pits If I stay will I only continue to decay calcifying to the infinite incarceration If the wall could move so will I Chipping away desperately carving each inch longing to reveal debris crumbled to my weathered feet A blinding pinhole of light seared the cimmerian shade Even the smallest ray felt like the whole sun shine upon me the once abandoned feeling of warmth and joy of light returned Harder and harder I struck the wall cathartically slamming, smashing with fury fragments ray by ray a spectrum of fervency reverberated The illumination paralyzed me with unease I almost gave up All that remained: the cornerstone and the blinding white light What if I’ve mistaken the light and it is the flames that seek to burn me Instinctively, I took my hand and gently began to pull the final fragment like a door on a hinge the rest of the wall unmoved My sight no longer blinded by dust and glare A green pasture as far as the eye can see drenched in afternoon sun a warm breeze whistling through the prairie grass I began to pry through the stone’s window Sliding stones one by one tossing them disintegrating into piles of gravel forgiving each one as they dissipated behind me As soon as my body could fit through my cold feet touched the grass from terra firm to crown charged with radiant warmth I basked in ultimate freedom peace, refuge, stillness my body unwinds my mind rests I didn’t search for anyone else In this field I can lie down Without the fear of anyone coming To corrupt the innocence The wall no longer looms only there as a reminder a stone henge of memory I prop my elbows into silken tufts gazing upward pink skies ahead