whole-soul / by Daniel Hughes

there’s a life chosen boldly and forthrightly on these mountains and these cliffs and these bluffs, walking their sparse trees that from here aren’t more than pale green dots — every evening setting life aside a moment to slow and breathe and watch the sun blaze through the valleys and their trees that, from there, aren’t more than pale green dots. gentle and free, wild & so fierce in small but careful and the closest of company, walking those trees. fought for, sweat for, bled for, cried for — I won’t stop til that same sun sets blaze to my heart that sets blaze to the valleys and skies, I won’t stop til that same wild wind that weathers and wisens those sparse gnarled trees teaches me her wisdom too. we’ll sweat our days climbing and fighting our way upward, upward upward upward upward f**king upward always upward opening our chests raw to the deepest blue sky and sleeping wrapped warm in the arms of bitter nights more vibrant by starlight than the day at noon because we know the stifled air and greyed polluted skies here will not CANnot satisfy. we’ll keep climbing, boldly gentle and ruthlessly free, upward toward truth at all costs, upward always toward hope and mending and wholeness, upward always toward a no-half-ass forever aflame whole-soul life.

nothing but a whole-soul life.