SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT, YOUR MISSION IS TO FIND JOY

At the bottom of this slot 
buried so deep between
buildings you want to 
crawl away in fear, 
be human. Raise 
your head. Listen.

Somewhere on the other 
side of this concrete this 
steel this lash of diesel 
& soot pelting your face
are waves.

The horizon is an empty line,
the sky an open plain,
the water a runway. 
It’s clear.
You could swim. 

Diane Silver is a Kansas-based poet, journalist, and activist whose work has appeared in many venues, including The New York Times, Ms Magazine, The Progressive, Salon.com, and The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative. Her most recent books are Your Daily Shot of Hope: Meditations for an Age of Despair and Meditations on Awakening.