You come from silence
Return to silence.
v
When your tasks
are few, naturally your pains are few.
When your words are few, naturally your troubles
are few. When you eat little, naturally you get sick less.
When you have few desires in your heart,
naturally you have few
worries.
I tell those around me
that if you turn away from the core,
your soul, you will fall into an unliving stupor.
The great crocodile comes and crushes your ship.
Eyes go one way, ears another; your intelligence
skews beyond reason. This disaster
can visit anyone.
When your ability
to choose comes back, your identity
will strengthen; ear and eye will realign;
and you can again be a friend,
a lover, a devotee.
Pay attention
to the weather, to what
breaks your heart, to what
lifts your heart. Write
it down.
Ellen Meloy