The Hamlet Project

That thing before me,
The one that seems insurmountable,
The obstacle impossible –
I will stand in its sight lines,
Right in its crosshairs,
Between one plane and another.
From this position
I am a target.
I could feel a shaking and a rocking of all
That I have known.
Something could shoot right through me,
Standing in the path,
But stand here I must
Because this is my path, by god and
You cannot sway me from my forward march;
Try though you might.
In earlier times I might have stepped aside,
Let this cup pass,
Turned around around and tried another way
Another route
Another goal
Another end.
But the time has come to stand stalwart,
To build myself like a tower
One with a drawbridge and a moat
With loops and slits for shooting arrows
Arteries and spouts for boiling oil
And giant iron locks.
But this tower has legs
And once it is built it will walk past the blasts
Walk on
Into whatever comes next.