In meditation class this morning,

I got lost behind my eyes,

mind slipping from place to place,

feeling jumpy, agitated,

and alone in the dark. 

This is normal, I know. 

Don't even try to meditate,

he says,

just sit. 

My nose itches,

a classic distraction, 

but I decide to lift my hand 

to scratch it anyway. 

Listening to our bodies 

is one of the most radical 

and revolutionary acts I know. 

Then, even though it is meditation class, 

I open my eyes. 

I let them drift into the mulberry leaves,

to the gray phoebe skipping 

from branch to branch. 

I see a light-spangled spiderweb,

the bright rays of the sun,

and the shadow of a vulture’s wings
in flight.
Here, eyes open in meditation class,
I discover I am found.

 

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