does the sunrise
ever hurt your eyes
when it catches you
from the wrong side
of the day

and have you ever
fallen in love
with the poetry of crimson
left on your knees
from sliding sideways
into luck

do you sometimes know
even when you say
you don't
especially
to yourself

and do those knowings
ever turn to secrets
that brand you as a ghost
among the sleeping
yet alive

have you ever
found yourself
only because
you walked contrary
to the way
of the maps

carrying
ancient talismans
like diamond rings
to remind you
you have never been
a pawn of the gods
but more
a consequence
of the stars

and have you stood
on mountains
and felt in over your head
beneath those stars
yet as a fish
who never wants
to find the shore

has your fortune
ever been made
of conjuring gold
not for the sake of wealth
but for the apprenticeship
of the transmutation
of resilience
in a spell

have songs played
in your ears
on stations from
other realms
while you shape shifted
into what could be seen
and the things that could not

if you have ever heard
these questions
without me
writing them here

then to find the answers
I seek
to these
and the questions
I dare not to ask
maybe
I have only to listen
to find truth
myself