I took a shovel to life A sip

I took a shovel to life, seeking to
Clear away the false, weak, and untrue
I tossed television, plastic toys, and the Easter Bunny
Like a farmer bails summer hay
Then I hit more solid rock
Governments, Educational Institutions, Ideologies, Religion
But in each I found a crack
A flaw, ever so slight
Which my shovel would bite into
And cast it aside
As I dug closer to the heart
I found friendships, family, lovers
Finally finding the seemingly impenetrable
Was this the truth I was searching for?
By my shovel found burdens, obligations, and self-interested corruption
Any flaw, no matter how small still exists
And must be dismissed
I seek the truth, and refuse to relent
When the last rock removed
I stood in soul-dropping wonder

At nothing



Complete emptiness I dropped my shovel
Nearby and sat in my hole, lost
If everything has flaws, then what can be believed in?
I searched and now found nothing to hold solid in my hands
After a long silence I looked up
Noticing what I had been shoveling not through
Solid rock and dirt, but rather
Cloth
The criss-cross of threads that is riddled with holes
Imperfections, but their unity
Is stronger than their solitude
Making a net, a rug, a blanket
To hold you from the void

And each life adds its thread to the tapestry
Right alongside the holes, the weakness
The imperfection
For in life, it is vital
to believe in something, however flawed
for to believe in nothing is to fall
into that nothing

I know now, but if you ever wish to seek for yourself
I have a shovel you can borrow
You see I need it no more.