A Day's Work

[bi_janus]

A Day's Work
Bi Janus

Only those who have let go
every possession,
every dear heart,
every belief and doodad,
every desire for more,
every desire for less,
every friend and lover,
every parent and child,
every tenet of faith,
every grasping,

Only those who have let go
every valuable and raiment,
having nothing more to lose,
are not cowed in fear
at the dawn of day,
at the end of days.

Yet, this evening,

with relaxed hands
I carry with me still,
just on my fingertips,
her and him.
Perhaps the groan
in the last exhalation
will be worth their weight.

[Merkin]

Oh, this is so good.

[dude]

Priceless!

[Camy]

Not to take away from the poem as a whole but that middle stanza is truly stunning!

I'm going to stick it on the wall as a reminder to pare down the 'stuff' I've inexorably surrounded myself with.... Or does that defeat the purpose...?

Maybe it's a koan?

[EleCivil]

I love this.

The whole set up and delivery model of "Here's a deeply held belief that I know I should follow, BUT..."

Goes well with your Janus theme, too.