i have to start with now

i sat there contemplating
the lives i may never know
hindrance keeps me wishing

i could sit and watch the sun reflect
on the texture of buildings for hours
and get nothing else done

for this i have treasured a lifetime
and others have pulled me back in

other thoughts
other responsibilities
other people

those who claim to let freedom reign
keep others tied up with invisible chains
emotional barriers that clip freedom’s wing
and ground those who desire to fly

nursing this wound in pent frustration
brings a kind of hesitation to future stability
wrapping spirit and desire in a weeper’s blanket
that longs to cry out the despicable injustice

you can’t know this and love me
how can you do this, yet love me?

for a love that holds the drowning under
is sadistic murder of true love’s nature

to love is to hold in tenderness, and release
without begrudging the exhilaration of freedom’s flight
and to await the return with open arms
to share the thrill of a spirit unleashed,
and glowing in the light of adventure