But For One ...

Do you write to a standard
that isn’t your own
Do you pledge your allegiance
to a dilettante throne

Do you shut out your Muse
when her words pierce the skin
Do you think before feeling
looking out never in

Is your nighttime belabored
with dreams from the past
Is the daylight a hunter
 your guilt running fast

Is the one choice that’s left you
the one you can’t make
Is the courage required
—your one failing grace

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)