The Shadow in the Twilight

I questioned my own shadow in the twilight, "Who am I?" The silence answered: You are a garment woven for the world's gaze, a mirror reflecting the faces of those who look upon you. The soul has its seasons, as the earth knows its time of abundance as well as its hours of thirst. A man am I, that is the fullness of my knowing. I bask in golden memories as though they were the sun, and as the great winter demands for others, I shiver as my spirit snows. Lest you admonish the frost within your own chest, the lion rests beneath the ice, and if not for roots stretching towards the unknown, come spring no branch would have fruit to bear. How often I linger in the sanctuaries of my bed, wishing the morning would pass over. Yet the world calls, I must risk to put on the mask of my labor. Looking into the mirror lamenting the weight of the disguise. Forgetting we were once small, with eyes wise and unclouded, looking upon the labyrinth of existence with wonder. A time before the dust of the marketplace replaced our vision. For life is a maze without walls, and its tragedies can no longer surprise the watchful heart. Yet, remember the dawn of your creation. When the Divine lifted you and whispered into the chambers of your soul: I believe in thee. In that single breath, you were given the clearance to rise. Not to accumulate the passing treasure of mortals, but to find a spirit of absolute ease. A peace so deep that it remains undisturbed as the mountains split and the skies roar. You yearn for the quiet haven, yet look upon the earth and see a magnificent, terrible battleground. See that life is a loom where the beast and the saint are woven from the same thread. We conquer with the mind, dominate by the arm, and offer ourselves as sacrifice or demand the sacrifice of another. Knowing not that he who slays is brother to the slain, and the conqueror submits to the same dust as the conquered. As the night deepens, the stars demand stillness. Let the world call your name; you must rest, sleep. For the morrow awaits you, unknown to you your path is decided. Rise, your destiny anticipates your arrival.