The greatest adventures
always seem to be arcs
beginning and ending
with a chasm of character
in between the lines

Your first words, first steps
trembling on uncertain ground
become false teeth and a walker
a trade made, inevitable
despite your protests

Death squares the circle
in an old hospital bed
returning you to the womb
—Darkness and Light—
for another kind of birth

Luke Shuffield is a 29-year-old content writer for a business education platform. He performs slam poetry and resolves to write 30 new poems in 2020.