The first is the dwelling of the powerless.
The second is the dwelling of the determined.
The third is the dwelling of the selfish.
The fourth is the dwelling of the tolerant.
When you enter the first, be full of respect.
When you enter the second, be full of questions.
When you enter the third, be full of praise.
When you enter the fourth, be full of thanks.
Shelter
ReplyDeleteTemporary shelvings wrap
A lattice shell of circles,
Each with a nipple at the core
Pouting soft solar panels
Toward radiant iridescence,
Like sunflower seedlings
On a puff ball of snow.
Or a taconite tower rises, floor
Upon floor, mined by elevators
Whose rattling hydraulic cages
Plunge and soar without torque
Inside this corrugated, multi-
Tiered stalagmite grappling
With oxygen among the nimbus
Clouds that blur its shears
And surfaces of clipped wings.
Far better the tortoise shell
And discarded conch inside
Whose convolutions tales once
Intertwined and spun pearls
Of wisdom, painted by symbols
Of a lost harp that struck
No jarring notes but thrummed
When sea breezes washed through
Causing all the world to vanish.
[Discarded Poem February 1, 2010]
Dr. Mike