Surrounding us in every direction, limned
in every possible form, these boundaries
and borders, these lines of demarcation.
We can barely step away from them,
they’ve so entrapped and squeezed our lives.
Do we draw them to keep others away
or to keep our respective enclaves
of body, mind and soul within?
Strokes of natural and man-made
geography, you mountains, oceans,
rivers, borders, colors, words on a page,
the signatures conscribing them against us,
are constructs that have lost their
constricting hold on this lacerated heart,
this freed mind, this scarred but open soul.
bright smile blurring and erasing
so many margins long marking my reserve,
my captivity. I know I can cross them now,
like they’re maps strewn across the floor,
mere cursive Ts in my notebook.
This syllogism may be false, but I’m a man
of many faults on the run to the next dawn.
A Thing for Words 
Well-crafted line endings in this, Joe. I also enjoyed the consonance in the 2nd stanza.
def relate and understand the first stanza…we are surrounded by many a border…and on the run to the next dawn…def feel that one too…smiles. cross on over joe.
Brilliant work.
You write about what you know but it's almost always what I know, too. So relateable. Very powerful write Joe. Thanks.
Isn't it ironic that we rebel when others place restrictions on us yet fight to protect our own boundaries? I have yet to figure out how to break them for good. Oh, the ending is brill.
I’m a man of many faults on the run to the next dawn…this is great and felt write joe…way too many borders around us for my taste..
"Do we draw them to keep others awayor to keep our respective enclavesof body, mind and soul within? "I love a poem that asks the big questions… we are all on the run to the next dawn, faults on our backs, blisters on our heels.But we keep running just the same.Love this.
This is wonderful, Joe…it's too easy to draw up the bridge and create for ourselves our own prison. Better to be a 'scarred but open soul' I feel…your poem is a call for freedom within yourself…and you're answering it 🙂 xo
ah, that 1st stanza is powerful… from those borders, we in some way create our own boundaries and once we get comfortable, we stop our growth
Briliant! Your work is always so vivid. Your introspection and humility – so powerful and freeing.
We're always setting boundaries, but some lines need to be crossed to open our minds and hearts, set our souls free. A very introspective and thoughtful piece, Joe.
Joe…seriously!? What a weave Poet! The finish is fantastic and the language is luscious! We must bust through these boundaries, self-imposed or otherwise if we are to truly free our hearts…and in turn our pens! You GO Joe!
Boxed in or isolated – a poet or an explore – a world of words and the path of the pen is dangerous for that way lies the wild animals. What a poem leading me down the path to you!
Wow, this is fantastic, potent images and exploring fundamental questions, I love the middle verse in particular – cartographies designed to keep us apart…
Excellent write…cross on over and delight in a new day.
You sound like your boundaries are extending so much you will soon be as expansive as an international corporation. Bet you weren't banking on THAT! When boundaries become too restrictive there is usually a convulsive expansion in which new information is gathered, new capabilities are tested. But those who study such things on all levels of the universe tell us that usually this phase is followed by a consolidation, a falling back to boundaries that are comfortable, defensible and within the true sphere of the understanding of a person or organization. Hope the new boundaries are everything you hope for!
Love both the words and the feeling I'm left with in that last stanza, Joe. "a man of many faults on the run to the next dawn." Brilliant.
I love the way it moves, giving the lie to any idea of rigid boundaries.
as if a caged bird had just been released
This is so beautifully crafted! Enjoyed it.
I think this has a quirky logic all its own that brings out the charm of the author! You say it well in the last lines, which I like much:Each day, I look into blazing dawn’sbright smile blurring and erasing so many margins long marking my reserve, my captivity. I know I can cross them now, like they’re maps strewn across the floor, mere cursive Ts in my notebook.This syllogism may be false, but I’m a man of many faults on the run to the next dawn.
I enjoy your examination of the bending pattern of walls we place as we move through. Wonderfully penned Joe ~ my best Rose