Tonight is the last chance that any of us have
to cross the Bridge of Lost Desire or sling Amethyst Rocks.

Tomorrow is still far off, uncertain in possibility.
We don't know if any of us will see the next hour, yet
alone the next day

So we live from breath-beat to brain-beat to heart-beat
taking hold of the ancient Roman cliché.

Tonight you can still set forth from the burning towers of Troy,
stand with Gods incarnation as he shoots arrow upon arrow
at demons who have kidnapped his wife.
Tonight you may journey with the Devine Mother as she searches
for her husbands dismembered body,
tonight epic words can still take flight.

So, if you are knocked over like Saul on the way to Damascus,
don't be afraid.
It's poetry.
Instead, pay homage.
Pay homage to those who can are unable to speak or write.

Pay homage to poets like Dei Bao whose work is
banned in his homeland of China.
But, never forget that as the tanks rolled over bodies
on Tiananmen Square it was whispered in rumors that those
students were able to recall his poetry in all its
political charge.

So if the Amen seizes you, settles in your bones
regurgitates through your pen or voice,
do not be afraid!
Pay homage for tonight is the last night
any of us may have to testify before the congregation.

Tonight is
the last chance any of us have to sling
Amethyst Rocks or Cross the Bridge of Lost Desire.