Between the Abyss and the Void

Sometimes life feels like walking a knife-edge ridge: the abyss pulls you down, the void erases you. This poem is about finding balance when both sides threaten to consume you.

Between the abyss and the void there's a knife-edge ridge.
The abyss calls with its darkness, desperation and hopelessness.
The void stares back with its blankness and desolation.

The ridge is narrow, the rock is loose.
Untravelled -- no map, no route, no trail.
Sometimes it goes up.
Sometimes it goes down.
It's unclear where it's going to end.

Perhaps it will cliff out.
Perhaps it will reach the top of the mountain!
Perhaps I'll find out.
Perhaps I'll slip and fall!

The abyss is tempting.
It says: the ridge is dangerous - give up.
The way down is fast.
It says: you're not worthy of the ridge.
It says: who are you to resist my gravity?

The abyss is starting to sound desperate.
Not my cup of tea any more.

The void says... nothing.
My voice echoes back to me with no notes added.
No harmony, only silence.
Blank is the response of the universe.
Don't know, don't care.
You're alone here.

The universe is busy with fomo and routine.
Not answering the phone -- too many spam calls.

The void watches me with an empty expression.
Who knows if it's judgement, contempt or condemnation?
If it's apathy or misunderstanding?
Maybe it's entertained, maybe more curious than it pretends to be.
Look at this bug crawling who knows where.

But I got my thing going here,
And it keeps me satisfied.
The indifference is mutual.
So is the mystery.

I keep crawling on the ridge alone.
Negotiating the tricky terrain,
Planning and executing each step at a time,
Absorbed in the challenge itself,
Unbothered by where the ridge leads,
Unbothered by the abyss,
Unbothered by the void,
Unconcerned about the lack of food in my pack.

Because
This path is mine and I belong to it.
This silence is precious and I value it.
Control is an illusion and I give it up.
The journey is worth it and I enjoy it.
The destination is inevitable and I believe in it.
My skill gets sharper by the minute and I trust it.
The abyss is shallow, I've seen the depths of it.
The void is empty and I'm bored of it.
The ridge is my lifeline, my practice —
And it's enough for me.