Standing at the edge of the city, looking up,
Behind - freedom, a vast, green plain,
Ahead - lights, business, daily life,
And above? Above is an endless expanse.
A wide, dark blanket, encasing us all,
Unbroken save for the smallest of twinkles.
And what of below?
Below is roiling and chaotic, not the calm of above.
Below is dark and tempting, drawing, calling to the home of all life.

We are called, all of us, all people.
We are called by the forest behind us,
We are called by the dark sky above us,
We are called by the turbid sea below us.
And always we must choose.
Truly, does the choice belong to us? Has it ever?
And we return to the lights and business and daily life.
We do not heed the calls.

But what if we looked to the freedom of the vast plain?
Or the endless expanse of the sky?
Or the roiling chaos of the sea from whence we came?
What would our choice be?
We would never return to daily life.
Nature, the earth, the universe calls to all of us, and we may do nothing but follow.