It is the nature of beets and blueberries to leave behind
indelible evidence of their intensity.
Think of this as an endowment of indigo.
It is the nature of beasts and brutish beings to leave behind
broken bones and babies. Don’t think of this at all.
If people tell you to avoid wearing yellow,
remind them of dandelions, lemons, and the brilliant sun.
Wear whatever you want.
It is the nature of evil to imprison the fallen
so all can be hidden and forgotten. Remember what you can.
When you realize the harsh climate is too much to bear
and you can’t stand the lay of the land even in April,
cut yourself free and leave for the islands.
When you arrive, stay grounded long enough
to find a source of sustenance, and then flare and fade
like the green flash of refracted light
that divides young from old. Day from night.
Think of this as permission to care for your skin.
Where to begin? You’ve come to an end
in most of the ways that matter.
Even before you flew, somehow, you knew
the aloha of the islands would welcome you home
regardless of your failed intentions.
Regardless of what you planted or sowed.
Regardless of yellow or indigo.
Regardless.
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Epilogue: Where do poems come from? Monday night, my dear friend Joyce died gently. Sometime Tuesday morning, her essence floated by to sing her goofy good-bye song. Then I think she may have arranged my next adventure—the reclamation of a trailer abandoned by a fugitive. It had that mystical aura. I pulled it home and opened the door. The interior was bursting with dashed hopes and eerie reflections of my various selves. The sadness settled as I washed blankets, sorted clothes, and pried a petrified waffle from the waffle iron stashed in the microwave. I yanked up the carpet beneath my feet. The rebuilding has begun. When it’s finished, it will shelter generations of newly hatched chicks. That was not the original plan but often, clinging to the original plan will often get you nowhere.
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For more uplifting, cheery poems and conversations just like this one, you can order our book from the YOU KNOW WHO (AMZN), and for a mere $13.99 you can torment your soul every day. xoxoxo
Short visits with an honest God 