BENJAMIN JOSEPH PRISBYLLA

DOB: July 8, 1988

Place of Birth: Pittsburgh

Residence: Pennsylvania

Publishing history: I have several poems published on Subtle Tea (http://www.subtletea.com)

E-mail: bebrave2000@aol.com

Website: http:/www.geocities.com/skepticsightsten/

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IN THE ESSENCE OF BEING

There are always times when we move through this
Vast expanse of being and worrying and living,
That we feel as though we should be statues:
Not standing tall and proud in the middle of a crowd,
But that we should be still as stone.

In this world full of sky scrapers that have replaced
The clouds, making shadows that leave you chilled,
It’s so hard to ever take a grasp on anything besides
Door handles that only lead to a receptionist that doesn’t
See you as a person, but a consumer.
Not a human, but a number.

You are as a ship is when caught in a storm:
Being tossed around by powers beyond you,
You’re being thrown to places you’ve never wanted to visit;
Situations you’ve never wanted to handle.

Some ships sink,
Out of nothing but apathy.
They became a part of the waves that thrash
Around in themselves. And they become
the howling wind, remembering something
They lost a long time ago.

They become the mournful rain
Crying itself to shipwreck.

But remember that in the morning,
You will still be afloat.
You’ll be riding off into the newborn sun,
Smiling in the wake of its life.
To a place where things like your account accumulation
Don’t determine your respectability.
To somewhere that’s on the other side of the sea.