Thursday 25 May 2017

Bad Decisions

by Roberta Brown


Bad decisions follow for an entire life.
They never tire of walking,
and traverse any landscape,
no matter how tough the terrain.

Unlike people, you cannot give them
the slip, cannot stuff a few things
into a bag, and rush off in the dead
of night to escape them.

They always find an
unlisted phone number
or new address,
even ahead of the post office.

After being forgotten about awhile,
they reassert themselves.
Pushing a cart at the grocery store,
minding your own business, a song plays
taking you right back to one,
and the pain is so great,
that you are thankful for the cart
that keeps you from sliding to the floor.

Even if you isolate yourself
and meditate like a Zen monk
in a room of white walls and wood floors
with your back to the center
facing outward in the Soto style,
they rise from your cushion or clothes,
screaming so loudly that you wonder
if the others can hear them.

Good decisions follow too,
but so quietly you barely know they’re there.
Only occasionally do they look up
from the couch to yawn while filing their nails.

* * * * *

Roberta Brown ã2017 All rights reserved. No use without written permission of the author.

Roberta Brown is an Assistant Professor of English Composition at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico.


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