Under The Cypress Tree

How does greatness come to a man?

like a sunray in early morning

printing a strip of light in the corner

of the monitor

or in blackness in the midst of sleep,

in dreams of lost battles,

in the need that drives him finally

to take action

like the smell of burning coffee

when the hours are dripping away unnoticed

How does greatness come to a man?

does it happen fast, or does it

creep in slowly

like sad memories in midsummer mornings

is it clear like a cloudless sky

or hazy like only love knows how

to be

does it go away when you cannot take it

anymore

or does it drive you crazy like

anything that is any good

How does greatness come to a man?

and can he afterwards

ever be the same

or does he walk away altered

like the fences in the farm after the flood

for one thing is known about greatness;

that despair gives it life

and that it only comes from pain

like the moon attracts the tide

of the ocean on the bay.