I saw myself today from a distance.
A boy I could have been, might have been,
jumping the fence so lovingly built
for my protection.

To ascend the primal mountain,
day extends its glistening hand
from the creation of the world.
My missteps are mine to learn from.

I wonder now if they are ours to share
as we step into those polished grooves,
as we wear the world upon our backs
like an old and rumpled flannel shirt,

thin at the elbows, rolled-up sleeves,
the faint scent of all Eve's children
still an evening's warmth within it.