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I Love My Life

I love my life
More than I ever thought I could
Because I’ve learned I can’t die.

I love my life
Because in the moment I’m desolate
When the desert is dry and there’s nothing to drink
When I’m hammered down with cruelty
When I’m gasping to fill my lungs under the great weight of fear
I can unsheathe my sword
And pray.

Then, there’s a rip in the world
Then, there’s a hole in the fence.

And all the bluster of that terror,
Rushes out like air from a blown tire.
Then I can move, with my free
Arms and legs
Through that rent in the fabric.
I can bend my body and slip through,
Into the starry blue banner of God.
Into eternal wonder under giant wings.

What bright, deep bouquet
What raven black
What throat’s wilderness
What steel train track
What singular bird
What immaculate word
Will I be
When I come out the other side?

I love my life
Even when I’m crushed.
Because I have this sword
Sheathed at my hip.
I am not ashamed,
I am not dismayed,
To take its silver in my grip,
And let its blade reflect the light.

The demons fear its edge,
It bears the blood of their kin
I keep it in my hand
To their great chagrin
Because I love my life
I will clear the way
And cause the death
Of fear this day.

With my sword I pray.

by Alex Cook (from his book The Beauty available here)
(Alex Cook, a muralist, songwriter, and poet, is a fellow teacher with me here at Creative Arts Camp 2018)

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