Merciel

When I fall into a ditch too deep to climb,
I cry out for help, but nobody’s nearby.
I try a few more nights, this desperate dance,
but nothing changes. Nothing ever does.
So I let go and dig, dig until the light
vanishes from sight. This pothole might become
my grave, but it’s too late to change direction.
I dig until I lose all sense of gravity—
up becomes down and silence becomes sound
and cavorting with death becomes life.
I dig until I break bedrock. I see new light.
There is new ground to climb on the other side.