after

where is the place the soul remains tethered to the body?

(sonnets4&5)

where is the place the soul remains tethered

to the body? for it seems that, slowly,

i am ebbing away. i have weathered

too many storms; my sails hang too lowly

and i am too wholly content to drown.

allow me to take my eternal piece

and set it free with the tides, northward bound.

allow me to do so before the sea

thins the ropes and cracks the wood and rescinds

pardon. before i am put on trial,

choking on my breath, engulfed in my sin.

before i, in my own self, am exiled.

i am judge and jury, and so condemned.

the poisoner and the poisoned, i am.

where is the place the soul remains tethered

to the body? help me find where it lies

deep in my chest. the string i must sever

keeps my heartbeat and consciousness aligned.

help me tiptoe around my sleeping soul

and release it from the oppression of

this cold, dead anchor. it cannot be whole

enslaved in cruel flesh; rising above

takes more than i possess. i am simply

prey to the beasts that ravage my mind, chased

by my vices, weak, sad, and sickly.

i must set my soul free, without delay.

i am judge and jury, and so condemned.

the poisoner and the poisoned, i am.