Down to Earth

I woke early to write this

At the time when the ease of dreams still lingers

From the rivers of unconscious reverie

Before the dams are built up

Because they will be

As they have been

Every day

You hate them

But I need them

They are the walls of my fortress

The one you are so keen to free me from

But I’m not a prisoner

I never was

To you freedom is

Unfiltered

Uncensored

Untethered

Un-D.K. Shepard

What good is sifting sand

Sinking in an hourglass

Take clay

Mix it with straw

Give it defined shape

Structure

Bake it in the sun

I built these barriers

brick

by

brick

My words do not flow free

As in a coursing stream

But as the slow

Drip

Drip

Drip

Of a thawing icicle

For the dam isn’t holding the current back

It’s fencing off a glacier

Protecting it from the fire

So it’s better for you

For me

For everybody

That I’m slow to speak

Because if you’re honest

You’d admit

That when I let down my guard

Neglect to patch the cracks

And spring some leaks

What comes out isn’t safe to drink

And your pursuit of openness

Becomes my oppression

To “Just say it”

To “Spit it out”

Might be easier said than done

Except

The deed is saying

So yes I may

Underplay

Understate

Underrate

But I’m not the winged moth

That you point to on an evening stroll

dancing for the night sky

With painted wings

I’m the concrete of the sidewalk

The one you trod underfoot

Every day