Alterity,
a slippery word
whose meaning is
not easily deciphered.
Never stated clearly,
nor fixed firmly.

Catalyzing enteran,
freebooting trickster,
it may be approached,
though, if one dares,
through networks
of associations.

Providentia’s prohibitions
penalize my playful provocations.
What alternative is there?
I vacillate betwixt pleasure and pain,
ceaselessly resonating between
the yawning gaps of reason.

I yearn to sacrifice
myself upon the
altar of puissance.
Yet, I hold back
fearing that the cognizance
may somehow alter me.

Alterity’s autonomy
precipitates a crisis.
Defying monologic absurdities
through dialogic rapprochement,
its power mocks
mindless conformity’s lack.

Resist unreflective urges
to simply seek sameness.
Differences that matter
open up closed circuits.
Rise, celebrate, propagate
possibilities of alterity.

-Michael Dean Benton