“The few blossoms left grow brighter, as if to squeeze every last drop of summer until we cry out “Enough!”. The inevitable must come. But what is that, exactly? The diameter of comfort can only hold so long before it is breached. We learn this young or at the end. My boat was swamped before I was old enough to hold a paddle. Yet, we learn to relocate, to scratch from the dirt, our dignity. This world is made of madmen & thieves, a soup of game playing operators. And so, our chances to not encounter subterfuge are slim. Pony up, my friends. Find your flock. The air is thick with an ill wind. On the bright side, I’ve passed a few benchmarks. Being brutally targeted for my innocence, I’ve once again proved that if you keep singing and writing it does not go to waste. Not entirely. You keep walking even as you lose your die-hard companions, because to stop is to die. Now I know that destinies call out differently, and timing is not ours to control in any way, shape or form. God bless them all. The sharp crack of mighty limbs being rent, is the sound of your next step. You said you wanted to preserve the wilderness but did you really want to be lost in it? The condition of befuddlement and confusion is descending like a fog. And the worst thing would be to pretend that you are sure. That your little decisions should apply to all, that if we all did this, or that, or if you don’t do what I think is right, I’ll make you do it, for the good of everyone. No, my forest dwellers, go light ye a fire and sit looking into its flame until you come right. Every frustration, undone chore, lack of male muscle, the echoing loneliness for females lacking partners of faith, well, that’s just how it is. The more you’re forgotten, rejected and not taken seriously, the louder the rain sings to you. Give it all up, for a better life. One of sovereignty over all your affairs, and the calm of ferocious beauty that carries on undiminished by age or infirmity. I have more work than I could possibly accomplish in one lifetime. Good on me, good on you, for continuing to show up without hiding anymore. Raw is real is a whole new world. I’m split open, yet no one needs to know.”
