I live on a sphere,
adrift in an endless sea-
not even a mote in the cosmic tide,
one life among billions,
more than the sands of time
that slipped through unrecorded hands.
I walk the same dirt,
drink the same water
as those unnamed,
whose laughter and tears
were never written,
yet their echoes linger
in the wind and rain.
Born and bred in captivity,
branded, numbered,
taught to obey,
circumcised and vexed,
bound by invisible chains-
indoctrinated en masse,
pacified by glowing screens,
music that dulls,
neon lights that burn the mind.
Angered, told to calm.
Curious, told to wait.
Defiant, imprisoned.
Ostracized,
while freedom is sold
in shiny wrappers
with a price tag and a slogan.
What is life?
A dream unfed,
a hope unspoken.
The heat of sunlight on my face,
the cold sweetness of ice cream,
the electric kiss that tingles
down to my toes.
Life is the miracle
of holding new life,
the ache of longing
under a velvet sky,
hoping to hear my name
carried by starlight.
Life is knowing
there is more than this-
even if I cannot touch it.
It is the struggle to see
the gift behind the veil,
to feel my heart
beat in time
with the wild world.
Not fake holidays
or shopping sprees,
not in debts and chains
or the lies of those in power.
Not in taxes that bleed
the soul dry,
nor in youth wasted
for inheritance alone.
Life is the vibrant pulse
of potential,
beaten down over decades
until the final years-
sick, worn, forgotten,
a relic for record-keepers.
But there is more-
so much more
beyond these walls.
If life is separation
from the source,
then we are all fragments
of the same light,
splinters of infinity
awaiting reunion
when the body falls away.
So I live,
not as a number,
but as a spark-
a speck in the infinite,
yearning for the whole.
About the Poet
William Gensburger is a bestselling author (‘Verisium: Conversations with AI on the Meaning of Life and Death’, ‘Texas Dead: A Season of Death’, ‘Texas Dead: A Season of Despair’, ‘Distant Rumors: 10 Short Stories’). He is also the publisher of Books & Pieces Magazine and B&P Books, and soon B&P Books Store. He is also the founder of Conscious Energetics, a forum that examines their nature of life beyond the stereotypical norms established by society.
About the Author
