Meanwhile we endure
and suffer with some pride
that we can be so human—
enough, if we must, to cry.
The point is inevitable.
Whether heel or head,
who is invulnerable
is already dead.
ASCETIC
Be whatever you like,
close your eyes:
on the desert a burnished stone,
in the murky sea a jewel.
Go wherever you wish,
bind your feet:
through the night where a wing has flown,
towards dawn where a leaf drops cool.
Live however you would,
stay your blood:
with the sky over earth as friend,
at peace with the mind and breath.
Speak whenever you will,
seal your lips:
of this life proclaim time an end,
in the next cry Nazareth.