Wrestling with the shadow
As it vies for that cocky vainglorious
Bright side of the self
That hasn’t frayed
At the edges for the past 20 years
It throws the gauntlet
To solarity holding taut
The shape of our identity
As it is projected
In the public arena
Bent on asserting to
Oneself and to others
Its wholeness
Unwashed and unabashed
We are all ears as it tells
Its mythologies
As it constructs
Our fearless heroine
Figura and persona
Sure footed knower of truths
Undeterred explorer of domains
We cast a loving eye
As it performs
With a straight face
Its virtue signals
The stand-up comedy
Of our self-effacement
Skirting our multitudinous trespasses
And bevy of omissions
And yet here we are
Tonight wrestling with
That angel-like cone of darkness
That won’t be corralled or contained
Has broken lose
And now flings us
Through the thistles and brambles
For our tentative foot
To furrow unknown paths.
Pina Piccolo, June 19, 2025
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