Have you noticed
the way you lean
shoulder in
as if holding up the mountain?

Not for the mountain’s sake
but because the holding
gives you form
and purpose

or so you want to believe.

The mountain has no need
of your effort
to be itself.

But who are you
without the holding
and leaning in?

This role you play
is a grand illusion
as if by holding this pose
you will someday awake as
Atlas himself.

The One who you are
is hiding
beneath the layers of days
of effort
of holding this shape.

To be who you are
You must surrender.

After all these years
you must fall to your knees
at the foot of the mountain.

From this place,
you will begin to find
your true form.