The Appendage

He stared

at the bloodied bandage

protecting his mutilated appendage.

The visual distress exceeded

sensory pain,

causing his curious mind

to flare.

He grasped the frayed edge

searching for a rupture

to pull, tug, reveal.

The soggy gauze gave,

pulling away from the lower fabric,

falling to the ground

moving deeper

more central

to the core.

to the appendage.

Still pulling, Still falling, Still deeper.

Panic,

            rip

gasp.

The gauze fell away

to expose

the Nothing

before falling to pieces

in a haphazard heap.

"Where I am going..."

 It would be so easy

and deliciously simple

to end it all.

“you cannot follow now…”

But this is inherently arrogant:

choosing to disregard

something that was never mine.

“but you will follow later.”

I live to serve.

I live to love.

I live to thank You at the end.

fool

The amateur juggler

walks about the uproarious feast

trying to maintain perfection

so none will notice his fear.

Around and around they go

an astounding display

of agility, beauty and precision.

Oh, what a talent:

to juggle effectively

and present confidence.

Woe to the juggler

as his stern concentration

on performative perfection

pulls his attention away

from his human body.

knees buckle

breath chokes

terror flashes

display falls

The juggler weeps

over his failure.

A court dwarf,

the only to notice

toddles to the juggler

to inquire of his tears.

“What is wrong?”

“I dropped it!”

“Dropped what?”

“Everything!”

“But I see nothing…”

The juggler ceased to weep

looked about the floor

and realized with a gasp:

he was right.

“Oh! You must be the jester! You fooled me!”

“Yes. I am the fool of fools.”