I’m Not Dead

I'd forgotten how to live
as a sleep-walker in the din
shuffling feet against the noise
looking down instead of up
I'd thought the end had come before
this mistake made by God
that I was still too much alive
not interned deep in the ground.

The world still turned in its wheels
now two dimensional in detail
gray was the truest tint
while rainbows tempted me
so much to see with cold promise
that nothing warmed my numb hands
matched by a body I'd divorced
from pursuit of desire's course.

Then the flame filled my eyes
sparked the coals nearly ash
embers stoked I thought were dead
resurrected to burn again
now the chill is put aside
if only for a moment's blink
nothing more may come of this
still I welcome the brief respite.

The ego’s mind assumes control
reminds the spirit of its place
do not expect inferno's heat
outside of fleeting recompense
yet I'm reminded that I'm alive
still responding to passion's touch
with a statement that exclaims
I'm not dead, just getting by.

© 2017. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20171027.

Every so often a person will appear in your life with a reminder that life does hold magical moments. The fog of existence is burned away for a brief moment as the spirit responds to forgotten stimulus. The poem "I’m Not Dead" is about this phenomenon.