Of Stone and Silt
They sit in high castles
And think to come down
That to stumble, will be
The proof of their crown
The center-mark of burden
A lone leaning scale
Between that and the other
They seek without fail
With a tempered knowing
They fashion fine rope
To build ladder of escape
To move beyond moat
A journey in reverse
They set into motion
From depths of wanting
With thoughts on the ocean
On thought and on logic
Of how it must be
From stumbling down
Alas to the sea
They gaze at invisible
Bowing down to nowhere
Descending castle true
As if some cross to bear
They’ve invented below
While escaping castle might
Blinded by doings
Of getting it right
Thinking stone after stone
Where foundation be not
Only pebbles dripping
Marking out: forgot
Still, they lead forward
Their misery at bay
From the sky to the ground
As if they must pay
With grasping intention
Escaping up high
With rapid thoughts of safety
Released and gone: bye
And with all that passes
They think on above
Of castle, of squire
Of true morning dove
But while on their journey
This quest to find earth
On notion of venture
And promised rebirth
They forget where they touch
In this time: named space
Forget the last stepping
Don’t recall their last place
This falling of sorts
Masking safety between
Not above, nor below
But where few have yet seen
Invisible to most
The seekers still go
Claiming entrance in reverse
From the cliff to the cove
When in truth, ascension follows
In pursuit of the few
The ones already hollowed
By broken, by blue
The innocence rising
As downward ones descend
As the chosen stumble up
The light of heart begins
Out of place of reaching
To retouch internal calm
From the flip side of thought
To reopen beyond
As ghosts above meander
Their dissension of ought
Thinking on promises
Aimless wanders of naught
From the skins once shed
Into skins newly built
They breech a beginning
Best birthed in the silt
Samantha Craft, 5.23.19
Belly of a Star 