The Wisdom in Lethargy

ALAN ATKINS

[pdf]

as mom loses her memory

i try to go vegetarian.

i’m not sure why either are happening.

i’m inside of Nanna’s house.

the old dog lies on its mat, half a fixture.

outside, the fir trees are oblivious to suffering and entropy

they don’t seem bothered that Nanna’s cancer is back so soon after we celebrated her “cure”

further out from the house

the sagebrush extends up the fluctuating silhouette of the foothills

onto the mountain’s shoulders

the Ponderosa pines evolve over centuries,

and people abuse each other

too tired for compassion

Sometimes

Rarely

when people are extremely

extremely

tired,

we are even too tired for aggression

too limp to bash one another, we collapse into each other's arms,

we may find that newly empty hands have room to accept love

Let these moments not be squandered

These moments are sublime.