alchemy

transmutation 

as described by the ancients to

convert base metals into noble metals

lead into silver

tin into gold

 

alchemy 

the province of sorcerers and magicians 

sought after by sovereigns and emperors

the rich paid for what

the poor could only imagine while

the science existed only in myths and legends

 

magnum opus

alchemical term for

combining base elements to 

create the elusive philosopher’s stone

the alleged elixir to beget gold

 

i am transmutation 

i am alchemy

i am magnum opus

not the stuff of myth and legend

not born of magic and sorcery instead

the totality of my unbounded reality

balanced on a precipice 

seeking my truth in a whorl

first in one chamber then another

clambering through

searching 

in constant motion 

reaching out

feeling nothing

grasping at silence

finally tasting brevity

and swiftness

I pass through

I am transmutation 

I am alchemy

I am magnum opus

©Karen Casady2020