Mortality rattles along
like an old cart.
Wheels may fall off,
or a side, or the bottom
may fall through

And we are asked to think about
where we will take it
before it fails utterly –
if we will trundle on rough roads,
or seek out asphalt, or park ourselves
in some garage

But there are no choices here.
It’s all the same. Mortality lacks
the spirit of what we are,
so it can never satisfy
or even be relevant

Day by day I turn away
from these questions.
Day by day I walk my feet
in steps of freedom.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 21, 2023