The Truth About Tigers

run long
and sit often.
what follows will follow.
what stays behind
was not worth holding.

the demons lose interest
when there’s nothing left to feed on,
when sweat carries away
what words cannot.

the mind,
emptied by effort,
listens.

there is no trick to this.
no door you forgot to open.
no shortcut.

only breath, body
mind, discipline.

and the sound of your feet
on the path,

the slow untying
of everything
you thought
was you.

First published in The Awakenings Review, Spring 2026, Volume 13, Number 1.