Horizon

If I lived when there were

voyages of discovery 

and conquest

I would have sailed out 

on an ill-fated ship

to fill my heart with new horizons

islands and coastlines of yearning and desire

to wake up in a world 

where every step could be uncharted

and even the earth and stones 

would greet me as new companions.

I would like to wake with the taste of salt 

in my mouth and feel

the wind and the sun on me again 

all the bitter costs of 

hunger and disappointment

come stacked with these choices 

like slabs of the rocky coast 

but weigh against these

a single morning bent towards 

the compass point of freedom

and my office-bound spirit

knows where to hearken.