If I cover up my question,
answering it
before it’s really answered,
will I ever rest?
I want to be ablaze, like a flame
aspiring without preconceived notions
of what it aspires to.
I want to allow it
to burn completely,
or I may possibly never find peace.
I will not be content with someone else’s answer.
I will let my being burn intensely,
deeply desiring to see truth
without preconceptions.
The Self is who we are
without the assigned identities
from the world around us.
When totally present
with the question itself,
burning away all ideas,
all beliefs, all concepts,
even those learned
from the great teachers,
the flame
peels back identity
layer by layer,
burning through surfaces,
melting us to the core, where
we find our True Self.
I am this stranger called Me.
I wake up every morning with my Self,
I go to work, eat, drink,
and socialize with my Self.
And every night
I fall asleep
in this skin.
I can’t dislike this stranger,
because my Self
will always be there.
I am with this stranger for life.
© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge day 82/365.
Desert Dweller 