All You Need To Be

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You do not have to be Superwoman

You do not have to leap tall buildings
with a single bound
You only have to get through
this one intricately challenging
and slightly preposterous day
with as much grace and humor as possible
Tell me how hard it is,
sometimes,
to just keep going
and I will hear you
Meanwhile the myriad galaxies spin
in their mystical and so mysterious orbits
across a midnight sky bejeweled with diamonds
Meanwhile the generous sun comes up each morning
offering a brand new day for trying
Meanwhile all beings in the cosmos
arise and go about their single day of solitary living
Whoever, you are, whatever your state of being,
the world awaits your constant co-creation -
issues you a blank canvas that cries out for
all the vibrant colors of your day,
you the living paintbrush, to draw forth
all your fire and fortitude and passion
and your deep, sweet peacefulness
at resting in the life that is oh so sweetly
and familiarly
yours


.....from the archives, kids, given the day is busy. I wrote this back in 2003. It is an exercise by which one takes a favorite poem by a well known poet (in this case it was Wild Geese by Mary Oliver) and substitutes one's own words to that same format, thus creating a poem of one's own.