What could be more
important today
than falling in love?
Look at you, with
your list of reasons,
your itemizations,
your tallies, your shoulds,
your predictions.
Walk away from
your accountings
and smell the river.
See the water ouzel
flit and bob spritely
from stone to stone,
as if traveling
from heart to heart.
Look at her diving
beneath the surface.
You don’t need
a poet to tell you
that’s a fine metaphor.
You don’t need
to squint your eyes
or tilt your head sideways
to see this is
the right time of light
for loving. Everything
is golden, my god,
even you, you
with your lists,
your inventories,
your records.
You don’t even have
to lose them
to be beautiful.
There you are,
golden, chosen
by the light, reports
and shoulds and all.
And still, such a hard sell,
this falling in love
business, as if
it will hurt, well,
you’re right about
that. Everything
you love outside
yourself will be
lost. You will break
and it will be a mess
but you will be
in good company.
Even those lists
you say you love
will leave you.
Might as well
give them a toss
on your own.
The river will take
them, no questions
asked. And in this
light, imagine
how they will shine
as they ride the waves
around the bend.
But in a light
like this it’s only
a matter of time
before you notice
how everything
shines, and surrounded
by so much beauty,
even the muck wears
a glimmer, what is
there to do but break?
God it’s messy already,
we’ve only just started,
might as well follow
that ouzel in the river
and cold as it is
dive right in.