The Realization... Poem by RIC BASTASA

here comes the truth
of my being,
i am human, i am human,
like you, like everyone else,
this conceit that i rise above
you is gone.
this belief that i am higher
with success and more blessed
with fortune and career is
gone.
at last, i sit upon a chair,
stuffed, my hands in my pocket
my hair disheveled
following the wind
my mouth closed with nothing
to say,
my face unwashed
my lips tight,
my body stable upon the
wood that keeps me,
at last, i have become like you,
and comforted.

i do not throw stones anymore,
i do not wish to float on the water,
i do not wish to be crucified
i have no dream of the heavens,
i am here and that is what counts most,
what happens after, in truth,
i do not really care.

i am rooted, i am a tree, and i do not
wish to move to another land,
i raise my branches to the skies
i surrender my leaves to the winds,
i love both the rain and the sunshine
i miss the skies, but i love this earth
more, where i stand erect and strong,
and foremost, contented.