in tatters

the ego walks through
   this world in
      tatters &
scars.

so many slashing days
   & piercing
nights.

but the ego’s
   merely an
      experiment, a
   way to say i
am

learned from our
   elders, some
      times many
   generations
old.

the brambles of ex
   perience make the
      soul bleed & the
   memory
ache.

how else but in the
   crucible of pain can
      we expect to change
   anything in our unbending
lives?

this is the alchemy that
   purifies the heart to
      gold & the karma
   that repays old & ancient
debts.

how else but in
   proud tatters can
      i come to kiss
you?

how else but in
   streaming tatters do we
      ever become
whole?