Aside
Skimming the Edges of Culture — a poem

Tuesday (Prompt): Fluid mind, steady heart
Psst, [aside] Almost Tom and Huck On the Mississippi River Escaping and being pulled back in. They were the impetus for my journey to Live aside society, consciously, ‘cause I felt a stranger to the peoples and not the land. The peoples and family had broken edges Scraped against themselves and me with Harsh cruelties, talking At. Mirrored lakes perfect for skimming stones… Touching down in chaos of attachment’s woes on Islands of mayhem only to be blown off or Away. And flying aside, am I the lake or the stone? Ah [aside] the arc of life — the rainbow in half-circle From one side of the valley to the other; am I the Rainbow or under her dome? For most of my wanderings, it was unknown and Now I am all Rainbow, Lake, Stone, and Valley’s Mountain Alone, together in the Brave’s Braid running messages by the Lake under the rainbow, through the forest along the path, Fetching flat skimming stones. Running tribe to tribe saying messages aloud and, Aside/beside: myself and free.
I wrote a version of this poem when I was in High School when; in English class, we were discussing “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. What stuck was that Huck, Tom Sawyer, and Jim, a black man (slave), escaped slavery. They were on a raft living aside society. That’s what I wanted with all my heart, to live in a land where everyone is equal. Years passed. I found and have been practicing inner spiritual work since 1975. In an ah-ha moment of which Medium and KTHT have provided the space, I got it: I had been following a path to freedom of the soul spiritually and through lifestyle to live aside society. Now — assisting facilitating equality for all…
©2021 F. K. Ontario
