i

You might call it an accidental life.

But when is life not accidental?

ii

We flatter ourselves that we live

at the mercy of. Actually

the concept of mercy has not emerged

in any scope outside our own.

Ask the virus to have mercy.

Ask the sun.

iii

Mercy is about power over: choosing

to set it aside

But first,

having it.

iv

So when you ask me to be kind

when I look back on you

from the unimaginable vantage point

we are calling my future, I realize

if I were merciful,

kindness

would be the heroic victory,

not the instinct. And,

there is some constancy

I can depend on, despite time

and the hazards of existence,

because the only possible response is,

You don’t have to ask.