A Tower

 

Could it be that all life begins

and ends beneath this trim white and red

candy tower, here as crash the endless ranks

of imperial ocean combers that curl,

hurling their foaming, darkling selves

over black tumbles of smashed basalt?

 

Is it enough to flash bright warning signs

at those that might stray, who may be drawn

to new ways of living; at unconvinced adventurers

taking deep breaths on the rim of the world?

Those that stumble, blinded by clods and beer

to the cliff's edge after a harlequin sunset, or

 

navigators, sliding sideways down an uproar

of seas shouting in frenzy, driven forward

to oblivion as the engine stops. Enough to say:

“Do the right thing. This will end in tears” ?

Best take care of those who choose

to live a life free from curbs and inhibitions;

 

who show without fanfare the paths beyond pain

and the byways that lead to wisdom. Smiling,

saying softly: “Take or leave it – the choice is yours.”

 

Chris Hubbard 2020