In this world of tech
And things very
Far from nature, weighing
Your heart against a
Feather seems out of
Touch with the times
Welcome instead to
My precipice, above it shine
The heavens while below
Lies the abyss and sitting
Precariously at the
Edge of this eroded cliff

Is my temple

I am ancient but I
Understand change and
Your generation finds
Scales boring, prefers
A more … interactive
Experience and here it is
Step carefully for while
I can counterbalance a pure
Heart, if yours carries
The weight of hate and
Fear, I cannot help you

Most scream when they fall

Yes, please, look around
Explore before you commit
Seek an escape that
Doesn’t exist and I will
Wait in anticipation of
The plummet to come
I could let you in on
A little secret: the pure
Step right in, have no
Need to buy time
But your misplaced hope
Feeds me as much as
The test itself
So take, your time

I can wait

[Gerri Leen is a Pushcart- and Rhysling-nominated poet from Northern Virginia who’s into horse racing, tea, collecting encaustic art and raku pottery, and making weird one-pan meals. She has poetry published or accepted by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Dark Matter, Dreams & Nightmares, Liquid Imagination, NewMyths.com and others. She also writes fiction in many genres (as Gerri Leen for speculative and mainstream, and Kim Strattford for romance) and is a member of HWA and SFWA. Visit gerrileen.com to see what she’s been up to. ]