this is madness

original photo: m hébert

Those who know are wise. 

Those who know themselves are enlightened.

Lao Tzu

this is madness,
when nothing can truly be perceived
as it is,
when nothing can truly be expressed
as it is,
I know what is,
I feel what is
within me,
but cannot see what is
before me,

my thoughts, like vapour,
I can only sense the scent of them
a presence without form,
my hands vainly snatching
at the air in which they drift,

my words, a confetti collage
escaping with every breath
to swirl around me,
an impression of emotion
but art without design,

not quite grasping the great mystery
that I discovered in my garden,
those violet and orange petals
so lovely,
while the last drops of trust
evaporate under the withering sun
of time,

this is madness,

what I must forget
others must know