THE LADDER OF HUMILITY

9/12/23

The ladder of humility is not pretty,

or even sturdy enough to hold up

leaning up against a wall or anything else

The ladder of humility lies on its side, in pieces,

in a field of question marks, exclamation points, #####’s

and other indications of distress and disruption

The ladder is made from fragments of

missed exits, entrances, and marks,

misread signs and cues

revealed illusions, attempts, and failures

and Ahas! of the most inconvenient kinds

This ladder is painted the color of awkward silence

that comes with looking into the eyes of whom or whatever it was

that you claimed, believed, hoped, or insisted

was the least, the most, the best, the worst

until you realized that you had it backwards, again.

The ladder of humility is v—e—r–y …….  l—o—n—-g,

And most likely to appear in the form of a spiral, corkscrew

or roller coaster.

At the bottom, rather than the top,

of the Ladder of Humility is a sacred space,

as hard to imagine as the inside of your heart

A terrain in which all that seemed to matter so very much,

in a life well done is reduced to actual size

as not at all important,

completely outweighed, and overwhelmed

by the most simple

present before your eyes

calm, step back into peace.