The Forest's Wish

The gods wanted flesh.
They reached for skin
and found ache and sorrow.

They took love
and left.

Destitute.
Wandering.

They wanted weight.

So they took on ache.
They took on sorrow.
They took on love —

and felt themselves
begin
to end.

Mortality told the truth
without speaking:

it passed
through them

Energy is only pure
when it can be lost.

And so
they stayed.

In flesh
came the cost of holding —

ache
that lingers,

sorrow
that settles,

love
that does not leave
without taking

To feel
is to keep
what cannot be kept.

To love
is to stand
inside that knowing.

Nothing lasts.
Not even this.

And still
it matters
that it was here.

Flesh only feels real
when it opens to softness

The ache of existence
is not something to escape

It is something that draws closer
the moment we do

Held

just long enough
to be known —

like water through fingers,
like moonlight through leaves.

The trees
have always known this —

how to hold
and let go
in the same breath

They grieve
without asking why

We grieve
and call it breaking

But somewhere
in it —

there is a hand
that does not close

And something in us
that stays openㅤ

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Nothing truly leaves — it just changes how it stays.

---

All artwork courtesy of NDjin Gallery