not

nät

my beloved is

my beloved is 
not the only reaper who 
stalks this battlefield

the buddha i am 
is not the same buddha as 
the buddha in me

i hope to win but 
hope is not a strategy 
and strategy wins

i live every day
as if i will not be blessed
with another one

i take the high ground 
because if i do not the 
high ground will take me

i remind myself 
that i am not descended 
from cowardly men

balance is for those
who have not yet decided
why they are alive

ask not if i marched 
in step but whether i left 
footprints on the road

encourage the good
and if you will not then just
pass him in silence

i do not allow
the quantum scale to perturb
my frame of reference