It's All Downhill From Here (2020)

It's all Downhill From Here

The King of the North looked south

and saw that he was good.

The King of the South looked north

and saw that the world was good.

But the Queen of the South looked north

and saw that she was evil.

And the Queen of the North looked south

and saw that the world was evil.

Then the Queen of the West looked east

and saw herself, once good, become evil.

And the Queen the East looked west

and saw the world, once good, become evil.

The King of the East looked west

and saw himself, once evil, become good.

And then the King of the West looked east

and saw the world, once evil, become good.

And I, the Ace, the ALL, looked in to my kingdom

And I saw it stretch from east to west

and from north to south.

And I, the ALL, then asked, ‘where to from here?’

And then I closed my eyes.

Darkness came like a flood,

in the place light did dwell.

And the ALL was now no more.

And with that the last became first.

And I, the Ace, became the ONE.

The end is now the beginning.

But I, the Ace, the ONE, looked out at my kingdom

for a way to return to the ALL.

I directed my gaze in four set directions,

Once North and once South

Once East and once West.

And now I’ll tell you what I saw.

I saw two paths each way,

for a total of eight,

and each led back to the ALL.

But one path was long as it tended uphill,

and perilous is the climb.

The second path was quick,

as everything rolls downhill.

But the beginning was way up there.

What choice did I have, but to walk the first road,

two steps forward, one back, upward bound.

But before I set out to painstakingly climb,

I looked again, to compare the second way,

but alas, here and now it was gone.

For right here and right now, in the blink of an eye

I was back with the ALL

and it’s all downhill from here.

And so from the top I looked down

past the Kings

past the Queens

and four Jacks I did see next.

One, the Queens’, saw evil

next, the Kings’, saw good

and the third saw both in the world

then the fourth with two eyes

pointing inward not out,

saw the day and night in himself.

And from that point forward

I entered the world

and descended the ranks below.

But starting up high

I descended with ease

Instead of having to climb.

For we traverse the mountain

either upward or down

that’s the price we pay for existence.

But downhill is easy

and uphill is hard

but your path is up to you.

And I am the Ace,

I bridge darkness and light.

the island of the great Abyss.

I am the top becoming the bottom

and the bottom becoming the top

I am paradise in the midst of hell.

And here I stretch myself out

west and east, south and north,

it’s all backwards it seems to me.

But now let me die

arms stretched on this cross,

as I bridge the two worlds for you.

And you, while you’re here,

will travel this mountain,

one way or another for sure.

But when you become weary,

of always paying for your descent

with the toils of climbing…

When you’re tired of working,

and want only to glide,

come to me and I’ll give you rest.

For when you’re at the bottom

and you dread looking up,

come to me and you’ll fear no more.

For I am the ONE

and I am one with the ALL

and if you’re one with me

you’ll ascend.

This is the secret

to travelling downhill

to moving forward in time with ease.

This is the path

that few ever find

but blessed are those that do.

Just know this next,

in this proper order,

for this is the Order of Being:

When you are no more,

the ALL is all there is.

When you are alone,

you are the ONE with the ALL.

In the presence of kings

you’re a sword, you speak truth.

When queens enter the room

raise your shield.

And with your shield up high

you soften the blow,

that truth may not be delayed.

And as the Jacks ride out,

not sure where to go,

be light in the direction they face.

And from that point on

the world is yours,

for it’s mine and you’re with me.

And like I said,

this way’s easy and fun

for it’s all downhill

from here.