This is what you shall do

I read Whitman’s poem last night. Really a worthwhile read.

This is what you shall do:
Love the earth and sun and the animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labors to others,
Hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
Have patience and indulgence toward the people,
Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown,
Or to any man or number of men,
Go freely with powerful uneducated persons,
And with the young and with the mothers of families,
Read these leaves in the open air,
Every season of every year of your life,
Reexamine all you have been told,
At school at church or in any book,
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul,
And your very flesh shall be a great poem,
And have the richest fluency not only in its words,
But in the silent lines of its lips and face,
And between the lashes of your eyes,
And in every motion and joint of your body.

Wires Tangle

A poem inspired by tangle wires
Wires tangle 

Like lives 

Like loves. 

Electricity twists wires 

Like lies twist minds. 

Wires twirl into one another 

Like legs intertwined.  

Wires find each other 

Like the time 

Even on that first day  

You just know  

You'll be best friends

Combined.

Do Look Back

The baby is crawling at the verge of the ocean. Sometimes, he surges forward, into the thin skin of water that runs up the shore. He slaps at the water, delighted. Then he looks back at his mother, grinning at what he is discovering. Wanting to share it with her. 

The look back. We all do it. Even my dog Anna does it. It’s obvious what we are looking at: the eyes of those who love us. 

But why do we do it? What does meeting those eyes mean? 

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