my sight is fading,
the distance blurred,
i wake more tired,
less rested than yesterday.
maybe, i should pray
to a god i can no longer
see, feel, or hear?
tell him, her, or it
that i am done,
that i have nothing left to give,
that i relinquish
my heart to the wide-open prairie,
let the twisted wind tear it up.
my breath to the endless sea,
drowning me in its infinite power
and beauty.
my arms to my children,
so that I might hold them in eternity.
my feet to the needy,
so that I might run the race for justice,
forever.
relinquish
my hands to the drum,
my voice to the melody of life,
my groin to an African queen.
oh, god of my youth, you are fading.
your voice is no longer in my ear,
your mercy is merely a joke,
for no merciful Being would strike
a man when he’s down.
yet,
if this is what you wish,
to break me into oblivion,
then i relinquish
my soul into the dirt below,
my blood and bones fertilizer
for future generations.
my spirit to the sky,
in all its splendor and glory.
my will into nothing
because it was never mine,
never free.
