a sketch for patience and prudence

Of patience:
defined as a state of endurance
in the face of adversity
or even just in the
presence of an
unwanted
desperately prolonged
inconvenience,

balancing on the edge
of silence and serendipity
when that all-elusive
smile comes into being
against the grain of that
granite face
you've grown so familiar with,

the face you've painted
for yourself
all these times with all the same
cracks and lines
the same face your parents wore
or your parent's parents,

and when it comes down to it
you realize that you have no idea
where
the mask came from
why it is on your head
your shoulders
weighing you down,

but you just take it in stride
and think

Of prudence:
defined as the moderation
and purity one has
when faced with
temptation
and the desire
to break
from
innocence,

practicing sound judgment
when you have nothing to judge
yourself
the mask starts to crumble
rock gives way
to fragile
pale
skin,

open air for the first time
the faintest sun
behind the clouds
scorches the skin
but all the burn in the world
was worth it
just to
feel,

the weight disappears
no longer a burden for man
but being born by the earth
the granite erodes
and leaves behind a trail
of pebbles and sand
to wash away
the purity
of sin.