Michael Akillian: The Life course

Station I

Unfurl.

Open yourself to the world.

Press your lungs into daylight.

Station 2

Lift yourself to the branch.

Become fruit.

Station 3

Put your ear to the water

and listen to the hum.

Leave four secrets afloat.

Make a song of emptiness.

Station 4

Woman: massage your heart

             gently in both hands.

Man: stand on your head

        for a long time, no hands.

Station 5

Climb the pole high enough

that the wind holds you in place.

Try to come down.

Station 6

Give some part of yourself

to fire.

Wipe the ashes under your eyes

to reduce the glare.

Station 7

Lie down, outline

your body in the fine sand.

Mate.

Station 8

Touch the ground, touch the sky.

Do this until the pain

of reconcilation becomes unbearable.

Repeat ten times.

Station 9

Run in place

until you are alone.

Walk slowly to where the sun was.






This poem is part of the volume entitled "The Eating of Names", published by Ashod Press, 1983. It is reprinted here by kind permission of the author.