Revised. Original post, 2007.
Ein Jeder Engel Ist Schrecklich (Every angel is terrifying). — Rilke
Close a door, open a door.
Write a letter, burn a letter.
Endings are as easy as beginnings
when there’s little potency attached.
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What makes it hard to end or begin
is the Angel of Possibility
who hovers on the margin
of each decision.
Her scarred wings, her fruit-toned breath.
Each time I have flown with her
I have been scared of the height
from which I might fall.
Tonight she floats at the edge of vision,
near the door, beckoning to me.
I pray for my feet
to remain on the ground —
yet she is an Angel, after all,
and I begin to rise,
attended by all the terror
I can bear.
