- Learning from a fall from grace -

I once saw the well
at the heart of their neglected garden.

There were mosquitoes and a dragonfly,
a tiny lizard on the sepia-colored stone.

- The place seemed full of life -

But I was wrong;
no one had been there
since the quality of the water
had suddenly changed.

It tasted like rusted iron
probably infiltrated
by gray arsenic.

- The place looked like a reflection of death -

Fatigued, I fell asleep under an old tree.
And dreamed that I was a star
in the middle of the summer sky,
until I fell
inexorably - faster and faster -
and reached the depths
of the forgotten well.

In remote places,
and tunnels
with crumbly rocks,
I forgot my light;
discovering darkness
and blindness that forced me
to count on other senses.

Cold fear,
damp loneliness,
insidious insecurity
I felt when falling.

Yet, the attraction to a nameless fate,
after a quick, dizzying journey
filled me with emotions
that swept my heavy past away,
blowing like a wind
that would pull out
even the strongest roots.


I woke up
to a world of sharpened senses.


Vertiginous dreams invariably teach me
that I can close my eyes
and still find my way,
especially the path
that leads to the unknown.