Rumi
advised me to keep my spirit
up in the branches of a tree and not
peek out too far, so I keep mine in the very tall
willows along the irrigation ditch out back,
a safe place to remain unspoiled by
the filthy culture of greed
and murder of the
spirit.
People
forget their spirits
easily suffocate so they must
keep them far up in tree branches where
they can be summoned any moment. It’s better
if you’re outside as it’s hard for spirits to get into houses
or buildings or airplanes. In New York City I used to reach
my spirit in front of the gorilla cage in the children’s zoo in
Central Park. It wouldn’t come in the Carlyle Hotel, which
was too expensive for its taste. In Chicago it won’t
come in the Drake, though I can see it out the
window, hovering over the surface of Lake
Michigan. The spirit above anything
else is attracted to humility.
If I slept in the streets
it would be under
the cardboard
with me.
