Slippery Slopes

Find a slippery slope,
stand at its edge on a rainy day,
take a step forward,
and let yourself go.

You will undoubtedly
end up at the bottom of the ravine
you designed your life to avoid;

off-trail,
unguided,
untethered
from what you know.

and there lie the treasures:
among the other beasts who wander,
leaving evidence of their existence
in heaping, stinking piles;

among tracks
layering story upon story
into the wet earth;

among crisscrossed fallen trees
you’ll climb over and under,
never sure you’ll make it back;

among putrid wallows
and clear, fresh springs;

among places no one else has seen,
and for which your words
will never quite find
a suitable description.