I was climbing the tree
I was attending a performance of Salome
I was lifting weights
I was reading on the Internet
I was dying but very slowly
I was all in all
In a good mood I was leaning in the opposite direction
Of the divine I was charting
Ancient cities testing their soils for
Trace amounts of radiation
Measuring the speed and direction of the winds
Posturing as an expert
Predicting the locus of new springs
I was the new spring
I was deep within the scramble of the tree’s
Branches I was listing
Off possible outcomes
Based on past events I could not detect
My own stupidity I was doing a lot
But the work suited me
I was trying very hard and my head hurt
You were there too
I don’t need to remind you
I spent the whole day not being anything
Or fearing myself
Or even eating
Once I prayed everything opened
Unto me in unbelievable ways
And I was changed really
I was

Matthew Dix 

is a writer from South Carolina. His work appears in The End, 3:AM Magazine, Fence, and some other places. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where he edits the online magazine Suite.