there is no more preparation

can be done on my part

to go any further I'd have

to experience death

so I could have a complete context

no

the rest of the way

is a race

with reins between my teeth

like that character in True Grit

that Rooster fellow

against some imagined enemies

ceaselessly stalking

the rest of the time

is a gamble

both hands holding dice

while I try to clutched some imagined prize

note the word 'imagined'

there is the rub

I can do no more than I've done

for my 'imagined' finish

but even with death as a context

my imagination will fold

before the austere reality of the Actual

my death the death of the imagination

and the birth

a birth of vision beyond imagination

for this there is no other preparation than

finally abandoning the notion of preparation

Content (c) 2008-2011 Philip Milito.