The High Wire

Can we dismantle a fortress from within?
Can we pour new essence into old wine-skins?
At what point do our ideals become hollow and self-serving?
When we don't sacrifice our comforts, are we deserving?

Some days I feel like an act on the circus high wire,
Counter-balancing common-sense actions and irrational desires.
I hear the echoes from my adolescence to inspire:
"Constantly risking absurdity" and "a hundred snowy horses unconfined"

I remind myself that I must walk amidst the profanities
Of this world, but not be defined by them.
I convince myself that I must honour responsibilities
Of daily life, but not be confined by them