Avalanche

Well I stepped into an avalanche,
It covered up my soul;
When I am not this mess that you see,
I sleep beneath the golden hill.
You who wish to conquer pain,
You must learn, learn to serve it well.

You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your gold.
I do not ask for your company,
Not at the center of the world.

When I am on a pedestal,
You did not raise me there.
Your laws do not compel me
To kneel grotesque and bare.
I myself am the pedestal

You must learn what makes me kind;
The crumbs of love that you offer me,
They’re the crumbs I’ve left behind.
Your pain is no credential here,
It’s just the shadow of my wound.

I have begun to long for you,
I who have no greed;
I have begun to ask for you,
I who have no need.
You say you’ve gone away from me,
But I can feel you when you breathe.

You don’t love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure,
It is your turn, beloved,
It is your flesh that I wear.