I surface long enough
to gulp down the sunshine,
or lacking actual rays,
expose myself to daylight,
nourish myself in the above-ground,
then it’s back down the tunnel
stairs, Plato, where are you now,
I thought escaping the cave
would be enough. I reenter
the dimness, the walls
flattening me like an envelope.
I learn about the world
when I’m upstairs,
and buried below,
I learn about myself,
the core that constricts
like a heart attack,
that fights like a bulldog,
Plato, where are you now,
explain to me why the cave
is both prison and enlightenment.