My poem, Qi, is published today in the newest anthology from Red Wolf Journal.

I'll post more about that later, including a link, but (sadly) tonight I'm awake at almost 4AM, contemplating my current Qi status, so I've drafted this prelude to The Red Wolf Journal piece.

I know that doesn't make much sense, but what does, these days?

Not familiar with the concept of Qi? Check it out HERE.

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Post-Qi

After reading what I had done, I thought
maybe I should go out walking, naked
in the sub-zero 2AM absence of starlight,
wearing only my decade-old slippers
to ensure no physical contact with Earth.

I felt like I needed to get back; to return to
the more Enlightened Self I'd been ages ago,
when I could still hear the hum; still feel
like I had some certainty of balance; still
walk out into The Void without freezing.

But now, all I can do is to endure insomnia,
do my best to remain alert even at 2AM,
imagine myself stepping outside naked
—even for a moment— to breathe some air,
to avoid becoming my own sub-zero.