A voice calls to me from beyond the edge.
An echoing from the vast places,
That rises up to find the light and see the sun.
I strain towards it wanting to listen,
Needing to hear.
My ears are pricked by the shrilling sound it makes.
Thundering in my chest, my heart beats.
Dare I lean further and be overcome?
More haunting still,
Dare I lean away and remain as I am?
“Death! Death”, it cries.
“Death to Self and to our alibis.
Death to our excuses that keep us,
From living the very things we speak of,
And in so doing destroys the only hope we dream of finding.”
From somewhere deep inside I am gripped.
Torn apart by these words given.
I succumb to their plea, and take the last step.
Falling into the abyss, the words rise up to meet me,
And I am overcome by them.
“Retreat no further, nor shrink back!
The time has come, and yet we lack
To pass the cup and drink it in deeply,
So to belay the glory and give over to weeping, our final surrender:
Death to Self!”
-Emily Hamsher; September 7th, 2021
