How uncomfortable it is to be fully awake.

I tense and recoil in fear from bugs that pass by my ear. Someone gentle whispers, “They’re just going about their business.”

I rush to reach the summit, because if I move with ease, I can feel my body. Someone gentle assures me, “The summit is here, now.”

I tell Him — “I’m afraid that I have to do it all. If I slow my step, I won’t reach the kingdom.”

He tells me, “The kingdom has come. Behold it.”

And I do. And the morning comes, never rushing, never late.

In tangerine splendor, dressing the palace with ribbons from heaven.

He softly ushers me into it.