Frayed

Sometimes it's difficult
Believing disentangled fibers    
retain their strength      
can hold their weight      
in purpose and wisdom      
despite unraveling      
     
Doubt frays possibility;    
     
a second hand separating    
braided hemp until lacked Faith      
would bid us each stranded  
Dream a wasted space      
     
But, there are those of Us    
who do not give up    
despite what we know;      
the Future isn't guaranteed    
     
Still, we remain open      
to what could be weaved    
from remaining theory       
     
...    
     
I don't know if a bird      
with a broken neck can fly    
or if Water is older than Light      
if diamonds crack      
in hot goat's blood    
or mountaintops      
give off cold fire    
     
There are many things      
I'll never know alive. . .    
and a few I've learnt      
     
But, if an emptied heart      
can swell again, and a man    
grown numb by circumstance      
can feel content in Hope    
     
Then I Believe Love can knot    
two middle-aged Romantics    
despite how frayed their Trust        
     
~      
     
     
     
Italics from 'The Shipping News' by Annie Proulx