Working and reworking
The thing without any
Clear idea of what it’s
Supposed to look like.
Sure, he’s read plenty
About what needs
To be done, but none of
It makes sense.
Forging onward with
The distinct feeling
That this may not be
The path either.
It can’t just be easy,
I guess,
Everything appears to have
The distinct tendency to
Become annoyingly complicated
Instead of pleasantly simple,
Developing into ever more
Complex convolutions of
Contortions engendering
Unnecessary grief and
Consternation rather than
Peace and calm,
A straightforward task
No longer,
Realization elusive.
Two brothers grow up
In the same family.
It’s not a particularly
Wonderful or unusual environment,
Filled with constant berating and
The weight of persistent unhappiness.
Nobody is praised in this house
And everyone is encouraged,
Both explicitly and implicitly,
To adopt the view that the world is
A hopeless place where you
Take your lumps and deal with it,
Grab what’s yours and hang on.
Not much light enters, but
That’s not the end of the story.
The boys grow up. One never escapes
The shadows of his past, the other
Helps people blossom.
Step by dreary step,
Trying to finish
Something, anything,
When my mind is elsewhere,
In different times
When things weren’t
So complicated and
I didn’t have to handle
So many things at once.
A persistent fog
Distorting my perception,
Unable to see, feel, clearly.
One movement at a time,
Finish one, begin the next
Until the sun rises.
A person arrived at a wall,
Stared straight at it and said,
“This is a wall.”
Another person arrived at a wall,
Stared straight at it and said,
“I wonder what’s behind this wall.”
A third person arrived at a wall,
Looked to the right, looked to the left,
And walked around it.
Having a great day, everything
Falling into place and then something
Happens to make it all go terribly
Awry. Pulse quickens, anger simmers,
Why now? Why Me?
Working myself into a steaming froth,
Begrudgingly shifting my actions to
Address the inopportune interloper,
Callous interrupter.
A continent away, the same event
Attempts to besmirch another’s routine.
She calmly accepts it and invites it to stay
As a welcome friend who adds spice to the day.
A visiting teacher.
