Sisyphus Takes a Break

Sisyphus Puts Down the Rock
---- Big Frank Dickinson

I'm done with this carrying this rock;
The nobility of the acceptance of pain,
The duration of boredom welcomed,
The tiring repetition of the steps - enough!

I'm open to a new challenge - one that
Can be accomplished in its finality, that
Leads to another or a gap in the sequence of
The previous endless monotony of time.

Putting down rather than picking up
Looking not up nor down,
Catching my breath, not holding it,
Or panting in exertion to pant yet more.

Looking my destiny straight in the eye?
I don't think so - not anymore;
"My destiny": springing from my head
Like Athena from the head of Zeus?

No, because unlike Zeus - this is not wisdom
This is creative speculation, so I now stop
Thinking that replacing the rock with
Anything else is any more meaningful.

I might as well conjure up images of
The afterlife, the reasons of love, or
A model of reality in its totality.
No more leaping out nor pushing up.

Instead, I will sit down, right here,
And embrace the nobility of nothing;
Break the links of cause and effect,
And know only the sound of my breath.