Here’s the funny
Thing about ponds
And people when
At first stumbling
Upon one you
Feel giddy cautious
Even but delighted
Oh so calm
And teeming with
Life below the
Surface so in
You go tentatively
At first a
Few toes a
Foot wading in
Now something happens
Either you slip
And struggle to
Stay upright and
Poised or you
Accept the inevitability
Of your embarrassment
And dive headlong
Into the unknown
And like a
Fresh linen sheet
That has been
Recently unpinned from
A flapping warm
June afternoon I
Grasp you and
I feel from
You the sun
And smell in
You the freshness
And carry you
Inside and lay
You on the
Bed smoothing you
Tucking you there
Where you belong
Often too often
Far too often
I wake alone
As many do
Too I suppose
And in those
First few fleeting
And delicate moments
Those particularly private
Moments I let
Myself feel the
Disappointment of waking
Up alone it
Is then when
I miss you
Most whomever you
Had been then
For me in
That one precious
And precarious moment
The slow strings
Of the day
Started with patience
Until like a
Solo violin played
On some far
Off hill you
Turned to me
With your lilting
Hello sleep well
Actually I didn’t
Looking at you
Now in my
Arms and chest
I missed you
For in my
Dreams you weren’t
And I screamed
At God when
Is it my
Turn when do
I get everything
That You promised
He quietly replied
Selflessness is everything
That I promised
Selfishness brings about
Plagues and fire
And destruction and
Famine and lewdness
Greed and gluttony
Whereas selflessness brings
Comfort and peace
Truth and courage
Humility and clarity
Would you rather
Be the one
That ignites the
Fire or the
One that can
Put it out
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 