Reduce it to breaths taken.
Beaten pulses.
Footsteps passed.
Teacups drained.
Each action a klaxon of cause and effect.
Reduce it to sunsets
To tides observed
To unspoken words.
To limitless regrets.
The counting is comfort in cactii spines.
Reduce it to lyrics hummed
To prayers unanswered
To untaken chances
To feelings numbed
Successfully.
Reduce it to the tangibles
To the concrete
To the empirical
To anything other than spiritual.
Reduce everything you ever were
Or hoped
Or felt
Or wanted
to the residue in the bath water
dancing on its way to the sea
