Gentle rain drip-drooping over rocks
In the stream that winds near my house
The scene wreathed in giddy greenery
And woven with knobbly, gnarly roots
Reminded me of my childhood
When I believed that The Hobbit
And The Wind in the Willows
The tales of Winnie the Pooh
And Frog and Toad are Friends
All took place in the same world
(In some beaverly corner of Narnia)
And I was quite sure that the land
Of Badger and Bilbo and the rest
While not “real”…not exactly
Was both wide and homely
Green and inviting as summer
A place where I would very much like
To while away a bit of my precious time
(And every now and then, I surely did)

centered
and self-centered
are not the same thing

so persist
so resist
the voice that chastens
for seeking within

the road to understanding
and to compassion
toward others

passes through the land
of growing
to know
and to be kind
to ourselves

when i sit
in silence
when i confer with a friend
or with a counselor

when i probe
my own past
or when i try
to fathom my mind
in this moment

i’m not taking anything
from others
and one gem is preserved
for myself as well

tomorrow’s me
will always remain
a mystery

boats and doubts, mainly
so i got to thinking
back there somewhere
in the annals of language
someone must have thought
“these things are related”
hmm

doubts, like boats
keep us afloat
they prevent us from sinking
into the deep waters
of certainty

where it isn’t necessary
to breathe
because all of the air
was taken in
and processed
long ago
and then exhaled
in precisely
the correct way

doubts take us places
we don’t always harbor them
sometimes
we take the wheel of our doubts
and we sail them someplace new
new to us
maybe new to everyone

if we’re brave
perhaps we’ll drop anchor
and go ashore
and explore
and make further
discoveries

when we turn our doubts around
and captain them home
and share our newfound treasures
with the home port folk
sometimes they throw
a welcome party

sometimes
but not usually

that’s ok though
because it’s only when
we get back to port
that we can harbor our doubts
like we’re supposed to

i guess
because linguistics

i’m afraid
i have some bad news
sir

the scans are back
and your brain
well

we don’t like
to use the word
but

your brain
it’s not normal
sir

also your eyes
and optic nerve
they

they all seem to have
been reconfigured
sir

reconfigured
in line with new
priorities

reshaped specifically
it appears
for focus

focus on a rectangle
roughly nine by sixteen
in ratio

positioned
in front of your
face

positioned
just about here
sir

it’s not that you can’t
pay attention
elsewhere

it’s just that
you probably
won’t

the good news is
your rectangle can
rotate

it can do portrait
and landscape
both

so it won’t always
be exactly
the same

what’s that?
you ask if there’s a cure
sir?

well, yes
yes, there is a cure
sir

but

you’re not going to like it

it would be easier
to enjoy the surroundings
during the woodsy part
of my run
if i didn’t feel
that i must always
keep my eyes
focused
on the trail
two and a half feet
in front of my toes
to avoid
breaking my head