Shadowless
by Odin Roark

That smile,
such muscular innocence.

That glad hand,
so soft to the victim's touch.

Ever the charming
priest,
banker,
boss,
counselor,
more so, the lover.

Wired to believe,
we long to embrace the twists and turns
of honesty’s maze,
to trust,
invite,
embrace,
and forgive.

But, oh…

The electric mine field,
one’s arcing challenge between mind and heart,
is understood only by accepting
suffering as intrinsic of pleasure.

For even though…

We’re not wired to willingly hurt ourselves,
enduring pain is life’s spark at work,
polarity’s need to connect passion with reason,
teaching true joy to those willing
to endure its opposite.

To not allow emotion’s paradox to live,
is to remain in shadowless existence,
life’s igniting of light
forever void of truth to illuminate,
illusory feet never touching ground,
unrealized potential floating weightless,
reality becoming ever distant.