I found a place On the forest floor Where nobody knows me I lay myself down Upon an altar Of good earth Hum of bees Murmuring water Rustling leaves  I lie perfectly quiet Until My limbs grow roots That reach Deep, deep down Drinking The center Of the universe I climbed to this place Long before dawn Clawing Sliding Bloody knees And darkness And I began to lose Pieces of me Chainmail Cherished shards Of glass Luminous scales Mesmerizing Collected Hoarded Through the years Twisted, tied with Bits of twine And ratchet straps Of iron will But The climb could not bear The Sisyphean Weight Of my armor Blue and yellow bits Of expectations Fell among The daffodils And my life’s work Floated away All purple On the ripple Of a mountain stream The black directives Of old men  In steepled houses I hurled From a precipice As the sun Began to rise Grey light of dawn I am here now Only my center Naked On the earth All my armor Broken Scattered Gone I sleep and wake And sleep again And find A...