Uneven Earth

by Pierre L’Abbé

Two directions do not make a decision
Where none was sought

To arrive at such a cluttered patch –
brush, dirt and stone –
After the long journey
    the last indefatigable stride
        the final infinite dip of the paddle

the nothingness of it
begs a vision
a grander mansion of the mind
to compensate for the unevenness of earth

I have stared into the air above this dirt
for two days now

The intermittent blank
    test of mind
giving way
to fits of mental industriousness
unable to assess if
the utter paralysis of discipline
or doing
    will ensue

Yet the fire keeps going
the wood collected
the gruel stirred
    and eaten

That’s how I came here.
The doing amid the nothingness.
And this shall be
    my salvation.

— from Juniper Volume 2, Issue 2