Matchsticks

Matchsticks

There is a stone
upon which
many walls
have been built,

the millstone
around the neck
to which
Jesus referred.

Upon this stone
is inscribed
a Law,
designed to be
a shock collar,

a Law
unequivocal
in its insistence
that every wrong
must be righted
with
Consequences,

a Law
meant to be fueled
by Fear,

and often wrapped
around the
human heart
with the ligatures
at the heart
of religions.

There is another Law
written in
the Foundation of
All That Is,

transcending
walls
and severing
millstones
with Joy that
shatters
Consequences
into dust
beneath the
bare feet
of exuberant escapees
going over
the walls
of Fear,

laughing,
as the Fear fades
into the Light
of the
Law of Love,

which insists that
when it comes
to righting wrongs,

Consequences
are little
matchsticks,

whose only
task is to ignite
the Light of Love,
then fall away
into
ash.

If you like “Matchsticks,” maybe you’ll like seeing my poetry books, and more poems, at stevegillard.com.