We live in a place
where heaven and hell
sit on
the same throne
together

Where despair and joy
live in the same
house
in rooms next
to each other
with only a thin wall
between them

Where people go to a place
where they sense themselves
to be the same person
as everyone else

But when walking
on a path and meeting
they look the other way
with only their shadows
whispering to each other

We call this place
our world
but it’s not

the minute we started
teaching our young one’s
to believe in it
it disappeared

And only when we
re-establish the grand tradition
of making mud pies
for both adults and children
will our earth
reappear

2003