Hesitate

Moment of silence

a break in the violence

exhausted gaze

from those with no face.

They hesitate.

Years of infighting

without victory

quietly dying

strange and suddenly

we hesitate.

Facing each other

facing ourselves

birds of a feather

embrace the unwell—

but hesitate.

Pale fist

smoldering heart

take your sins

tear them apart.

Black-Eye

dirt-stained feather

take the sky

drift forever.

Dissonant together

broken apart

joined now forever

till death do us part.

---

At times, living with ourselves can be difficult. There will always be pieces of us that are difficult to accept, whether they are flaws or things we have done. Often they war with other pieces of us, and the two fight for control in a battle that only hurts both sides.

As much as we would like to, we often cannot simply get rid of what we do not like. More often, we have to accept difficult aspects of ourselves-coexist with them. That is what I believe this poem is saying. The difficult corners of ourselves have to be acknowledged but never given complete freedom. They must be understood and processed. Only then can they be put to use, whether that means tearing apart sins or taking the sky.

When tensions rise within, hesitate-you are not the enemy, no matter how badly one part of you wants to believe the other part is.

Hope Mixes

—The Translator