On the Brink

On the brink, on the edge
The precipice, the abyss, the ledge
You reach out to me,
Your cry for help
 echoed by a host
 of survivors
 and of ghosts
silently insisting I step up.
My heart trips on the weight of it.
Can I weave my words into a lifeline?

Stay.
Live.
Learn as long as you can
And I will too.
Let's meet on the mountaintop at the end
and share stories of our adventures.

Why?

For this one unthinkable thing
You don't get to know Why.

For this unthinkable thing,
Why will burrow in your heart and grow
Like a weed,
     a canker,
         a tapeworm,
An oak.

In this unthinkable time,
Why will drop its duffle, flop on the couch,
     and stay -
A drug-addicted, lying thief
Who saps your strength and breaks your heart
And takes, with no return.

Why will pull you down the rabbit-hole,
And never look back.

Send Why packing.
Brook no arguments.
Banish him from your door.

For this time and place,
For this one unthinkable thing,
Why is nothing but a useless punk.