quiet and far

you should go quiet and far
when the best thing
you can do for your friends
is to leave them alone

there should be some sense
that you are learning anything
from the ineffable moments,
that they don't just stack over you
until you can't see the past

you should take out your old feathers
when you've gone quiet and far
and learn a thing or two about rivers
and the fishes that breathe in them

it could be that there is no calm
way of knowing precisely what to do
with the years, and that they'll
sink in lazily despite your concerns
that they're not shaping up quite right

you should hope that the persistent
growth and decay of notions in your mind
will one day provide a suitable soil
to sprout some respectable food and flowers

it should not surprise you that
the voice you trust the most
is none other than
the winds

she doesn't lie