The Intimacy of the World Unmasked, a glosa
With inspiration from Franz Kafka, “…The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet…”
Gravity holds us to a planet
we hold each other or we don’t
hold each other & how we got here
remains masked
The world will itself to you to be unmasked
If we wear the masks (we do)
we can still see if we open our eyes
even in the harsh dark, our eyes adjust
even blinded, we can feel the masks
we have no choice in the universe of feeling
but to feel
It has no choice
The weight of us is worth
the wait – to strengthen
our arms our shoulders
our eyes our mouths
to open our hearts to pain
oh love…
It will roll in ecstasy at your feet
VANESSA SHIELDS, writer 