DANGER

​

 I’m coming to believe

            that the greatest danger

                        is life without danger.

 The very thing we shield ourselves from—

            civilize away from—

                        the wild fires that serve to enrich the soil,

 are the fires that sustain our souls.

 

 Without danger, without risk,

            without opening the door to the wind,

                        we cocoon ourselves with layers

of comfort and distraction,

            separating humans from the natural world,

                        becoming less recognizable to nature.

 Entranced by warding off the unexpected,

            insuring safety at all costs,

                        we’re working eagerly to extinguish death,

taking the life out of life in the process.

 

I feel these two forces within me:

            the woman who worries every winter

                        what she’ll do if the heat goes out,

if she gets caught outdoors in a storm,

            the woman who wonders if she’ll die

                        in the sweatlodge,

or get lost on a mountain;

            vs. the woman who loves the storm,

                        who goes into the sweatlodge,

and climbs the mountain.

 

I sit back and listen

            to the fearful one. 

                        Even though I tire of negotiating with her,

still, I bring her with me

            everywhere I go.

                        And while she gets angry

and dreams of being home and safe,

            I remind her how much richer life becomes

                        when we push through the cocoon,

chancing danger for the unforeseen.