no one is going to survive.

fate may not alert you to exactly what it has in mind,
but it cannot avoid telegraphing that play
that play being the end-
the end of you.

whether or not you'd prefer to pursue forever,
you can't.

you just can't.

and the sooner a person tips his cap to that
the sooner hair will stop appearing as clumps in his hands
and the sooner his roots can begin to grow in the direction of their destiny.

no one is going to survive
the big THIS
but one can try to survive all the little thises
that string together along the way
or one may not want to
for those little thises often feel larger than

l...i...f...e

and living doesn't seem worth the hassle
'cept for the moments that interrupt the little thises
when

l...i...f...e

puffs a person's chest
or pierces a person's sides through their lips and cheeks
or strokes a person's hand to stop it from trembling
and in those moments
the big THIS
couldn't be further away
and the little thises simply go away.

no one is going to survive
and none of us matter,
but were it not for the matter of all
the one you are
wouldn't be here
and here wouldn't be one half
as _________ as it could be
and the halves that need you to complete them
would matter less
leaving less matter of all for the here
to know now
forcing the now to know that it can't survive
without the one
and
the
one
is
you.