Prophet's Dilemma

Sticks and stones break your bones —
After
Your words have broken
Whole worlds

If I am dreaming — an entire world
Filled with all I ever wished, imagined, desired —
Sacred and profane
Holy and unholy —

And you appear — shouting —
Wake up
Right into my ears —

Your words — your shouting —
Shattered my world
I would then feel justified — truly —
To reach for a stick and stone
And break your bones in return

So it’s said:
Don’t shout
Don’t wake
Those who are sleeping — dreaming

And now —
If you find yourself pursued
By groggy sleepers, clawing at lost dreams
Throwing stones, chasing you —
Even as they mumble their way
Back into the comfort of dreaming worlds —

What would be best —
Run, or stop
Stop
For there’s no wisdom in flight
You’ll be caught — bound to a tree
Or nailed to a cross

Turn back — beg
Lie down — feign sleep —
Whisper, weave
Their broken worlds
Back into being —
Rather than become
The martyred prophet

But —
Who knows
Who can say
Will you run — be caught — your bones broken
Will you stop, beg — and still be slain
Or keep shouting
Whispering
Until a following gathers

You were dreaming —
Then woke, without choosing
To the majesty
The splendour — and the horror —
Of the waking world

And seeing them — still dreaming
Lost in the worlds that were once yours
What else could you do
But chirp, whisper, bark, chant —
Shout, yell, scream —
Not to wake the sleepers
But just to be —
A bird, a dog, a man — whatever you are

Some stirred — disturbed — woke — grew angry
Others didn’t
Who can tell
Who knows —

If you were a dog, a bird, an animal —
You’d flee
You’d vanish into trees

But you’re a man
And you can’t just flee

You can keep speaking —
Until they silence your tongue

Or speak something else —
Softer
Something that soothes

Who knows —
Who can say —
What will become of you
Now that you’ve awakened

And why not —

If you could
Write scriptures, pointers, commands
Gather an army —
Build an ashram, a church, a mosque, a temple
Where your whispers, screams and yells
Are chanted, echoed
To travel through time —

And declare
Your words alone as holy
For all times
That would ever come
To awaken the sleepers —
And your towers — the only refuge
For all who have awakened
Where they may speak
Their own —
Only if hallowed
By your name