Having spent two years
Submerged with the outcasts
Amongst the otherwise forgotten
Those others know about
But dare not be
Those that make up
The stairs upon which
Most other people climb
I learned that life
Doesn’t end in accumulation
For all those whom
Have not have more
Much more in fact
For those with nothing
Have nothing to lose
And that is blessed
And is actually freedom
Sometimes the fish
Sometimes the fisherman
But always this
One swims about
The other casts
And only then
When temptation lands
Alights and skitters
Do we become
That which we
Are meant to
To each other
One the promise
One the catch
And so goes
Fisherman and fish
And like a woodsman
Walking through a grove
Of towering maple trees
As I pass each
I stop to touch
Maple trees like friends
Are not my path
But show me it
They are where I
Go when I’m weary
And they shelter me
Always behind sometimes ahead
But wherever they are
I couldn’t be there
Anywhere really without them
I abdicated my freedom
In lieu of security
I survived under another’s
Rules turning over authority
To a third party
Because it seemed easier
But I finally discovered
That is not living
I finally broke free
Now on the other
Side of the wall
The sun burns brighter
The moon glows quieter
And my imagination can
Finally rest no longer
Needed to simply survive
Isn’t simple life grand
It’s interesting just how
Little you get used
To expecting when others
Don’t give I felt
Like an island exporting
All my natural resources
Take this take that
I still have plenty
The funny thing about
Others though is that
When my little island
Ran out of me
They too ran out
Found a different island
From which to import
And I well I
Renewed myself to glory
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 