note to self: no need to stay longer than enough

I went out to play. Why?

Looking for new friends, perhaps.

Voices, smiles, eyes danced around

Silly, wild, serious, complacent,

What fun has been

… for a while.

Then

they started asking of me

for things to do and not do

to argue, to compete,

to shout to be heard

for no reason

not a reasonable reason at all.

I know I should have fled that instant.

But I stayed a minute longer,

Thinking “who knows? It might improve.”

staying a minute longer …

I haven’t learned my lesson yet:

Return home before

getting tired and hurt.

Oh, well!

Wounds heal

Body restores

New place to be

New thing to do

Existence goes on

Non-existence stays

Like grandpa’s serenity

Sitting in the orchard.

Note to self:

No need to eat more than satiety

No need to think more than sanity

No need to stay longer than enough.

Life is enough.

©️A. Garden, January 2020