Cliff Notes

Can you ease off a cliff? Seems so. One minute you are there, the next minute, the cliff is far behind or above or wherever the heck it went. Freefalling is like that. Is it free? The true price is back on the cliff. Those that look into the abyss but choose not to jump. It could mean death. It will mean change. It might not fly. It might not be a cliff at all. It might just be a stopping point. The either or place most see.

There is a big settlement at the fork in the road. Many do not take the fork. They settle there. Settle for meeting travelers who happen upon that fork. Travelers that came from other places yet ended up at that fork. For a bit. A respite. The settlers like to be with them. Like to hear of their tales and how they got there and what they did. The settlers look at the cliff again and long. Not for too long though. The settlement needs tending. Yards to mow. Gardens to hoe. Chores to do. Things to stew. Meetings to run. Committees to chair. Lectures to hear. Examples to give. The cliff is for others. Wonderful view though. Would hate to miss out on the view. The travelers pass through. Must be hard on them. Never having the same stuff. Not knowing what the day holds. Having to deal with so much variety. They live like emotional hobos. Bums that take the train openly and ride the rails without even knowing where the rails go. Selfish. Self centered. Hurtful. The fork in the road is a good place. It is safe and warm and people know your name. It is good to have roots and forks and things. The cliff is for the ones with wings. Those that fly. The grounded ones celebrate them but have to tend to things. Have to do things. Have to…to accept things. Wingless.

Can you ease off a cliff? Easy for some. Harder not to ease off of the cliff. Harder to be with those that get to the fork in the road and then take the fork. Why don’t they stop somewhere else? Why did they come to this fork? Why did they come and remind us about the cliff? Why couldn’t they just have jumped off some other fucking cliff? Why did I invite them to stop anyway? Why did I start to believe the cliff was something to jump off? Why?

There is an echo deep in that canyon. I hear it when I howl. I feel it when I howl. I howl a lot. Feels good for a second afterwards. Just for a second. Sometimes seconds are all I have. Seconds. Sloppy seconds that pass so quickly. So I howl. Wonder if they hear me? Are they right down there? At the bottom of the canyon? Not likely. They are likely far gone. Deeper and deeper and someplace exciting. Someplace with strange animals and dances and sounds and dark ceremonies and dirty things that feel so good there. Someplace I cannot go. Someplace I know. Someplace beyond this fork in the road. If I jump, they will not be there to catch me. They are gone. I cannot see them. Cannot feel them. Wish I did not know them. Let me get back to the fork in the road. The road untraveled. Maybe a bit traveled. Back there. Before the fork in the road. Maybe there is something back there. Something that is not the fork in the road. Something that is easier. Makes me feel good again. Maybe the answer is back there. Maybe I don’t have to take the fork in the road. Maybe I don’t have to jump off the cliff. Maybe.

Howl. Howl. Howl. Hear me? Feel me? Hear me? Please. The cliff is nice. Come back and visit. Please. It gets dark over the canyon. The stars show better over the canyon. The stars at night are big and bright. Deep in the heart of wishing. So long. Howl. So long. Howl.

Wonder when the next traveler will come. Wonder if they are a traveler or someone searching for the fork in the road they will not take. That is what we look for. Our fork. The one we will not take. That is when we settle. Explorers see the fork and take it. Settlers see the fork and settle. Settling is good. Had to explore to get here. To know about the fork. Had to choose to stay. Had to find my way to know when to stop looking. Had to choose not to explore. Had to. Howl. Too tired to howl. Someone might hear me. Shhhhhhhhh. Time to sleep.