a poem
the hammer falls for decades
a bad boss here, a failed relationship there
illness and accident
birth and death
bending and compressing the soul
welding the molecules together
forming a rigid weapon
with which to cleave the future
life is summoned to greater trials
the loss of a great love
or a carefully crafted future
unexpectedly crumbles to dust
the spirit is crystallized and turned hard as glass
one last heat cycle
to draw the brittleness out
leaving a resilient core and a rock hard surface
a new awakening, the understanding that nothing
is as it has always appeared
the realization that the mission
was actually to create the world from within
one final honing
draws the edges to a razor sharpness
and the tip to an exquisite point
the blade is ready for the ultimate battle
Dick Millet 