I have always been driven to understand life
not to shovel or excavate but strip mine it
with questions like why do affairs of the heart
come and go and how slippery it is living in the now
and if books really help with that why does every dawn
fail in its promise of a giggling arms out head back
carefree tomorrow
and who are those that enter my dreams
those other lifetimes that seem to know me
and poke holes in the roof of my soul
and wait to see how I’ll handle
the next big downpour