Freedom

This freedom that we prize
Is a false flag
We have never been free–
Not in our mother’s womb
Not with the cutting of the umbilical cord
Everything is conditional.
These bodies that we inhabit
Have requirements–
Nourishment, shelter, health, love
We are tied to the Earth
We are tied to each other

I was 18 when I knew
Where true freedom could be found
In death–only in death
It was my choice
So I held death in one hand
And forged a living with the other
Always knowing
I had an out (freedom)

And because I had the courage
To have death as an option
I had the courage to live
To see with a visitor’s eyes
The beautiful and the ugly
And to dance inbetween
Weaving my own web
Within the greater web

So many are chasing the idea of freedom
We disappear into drugs or alcohol
We try to buy freedom with power/money
Or coerce God with prayer and religion
We form our exclusive groups
And we try to protect our freedom with guns
There is no freedom–it is only an idea
There is no “me”
That isn’t connected to everyone
And everything on Earth

There is no freedom in life
There is only cooperation
There is only acceptance
And the holding of each other’s hands
Freedom can wait

]7/2020 bjb