Tree routes

they never desired
to be ornamented
with suspended
lifeless bodies

nor did they wish
to surrender their
own carcasses so
bodies could serve
as examples in a
more convenient locale,
their arms piercing
others' skulls

their fate is always
of that tied to us
ascending ladders
rising higher to
cloudy oceans and
smoldering quasars

but ladders possess
both directions and
tunnel deep into
depths overlooked by
everyday eyes and cares

deep into solidity
where pressure and
wait marry dismal
with brilliance

either ladder end
bears its own reward
and what is sought
can be found in both
depths and heights

only from mines
deep within can be
found gems adorning
crowns on high

and ladders are
climbed to and fro
as lungs inhale and
blow away collected
perceptions of existence

that is their fate
to be entwined and to
entwine what always
will be with what has
always been:

the germ and its
many coils flowing
down a stream of
dreamt toils