Synapses

A Poem

Photo by hao wang on Unsplash

fall back, fall back, fall back
(know it’s true, know it’s true, know it’s true) —

a cascade doesn’t know it’s a cascade
until a row of dominoes falls down

(down, down, down, down, down)

is it true, staring me back in the mirror?
is it true, looking at me in my deepest hearts?
is it true, making me question myself
even as my heart breaks into pieces?

(fall back, fall back, fall back)

we all think we’re heroes or villains,
but are we just people striving
for the best lives we know
as we’re living them?

we all think we’re heroes or villains,
but are we just hopeless victims
of circumstance, little knowing
what’s going to happen…

next?

(fall back, fall back, fall back)

i thought i had the answers in my palms,
but maybe i didn’t after all —

i thought i had the answers in my palms,
but maybe all i thought was

just a happenstance of motion,
little questioning my honor
even as pieces of me broke
and told me

i was better off.