Knee Deep

Never mind the tube of glitter
emptied on the muddy river to give it sparkle.

Temper raises the temperature outdoors
too minutely to measure.

The lagoon in the oxbow is the home
of a hundred million mosquitos.

The river wishes it slept so well
as a dog after a day herding sheep.

The river does not understand
the contiguous nature of states in its channel.

This afternoon we are without our quest
for transcendent Nirvana

and without our quest find it
while retrieving glitter from the shallows.

Nirvana

A mother’s love
is not guaranteed at birth.

Genetics supply
only a protective instinct.

Postpartum depression
cancels both.

This is the way of the world.
God made it so.

To find perfection in this fact
is to stand on Nirvana’s cusp.

I see you hesitate to walk
into an unpolished pearl.