My worst habit is I get so tired of winter
I become a torture to those I’m with.
If you’re not here, nothing grows.
I lack clarity.
My words tangle and knot up.
How to cure bad water?
Send it back to the river.
How to cure bad habits?
Send me back to you.
When water gets caught in habitual whirlpools,
dig a way out through the bottom to the ocean.
There is a secret medicine given only
to those who hurt so hard they can’t hope.
The hopers would feel slighted if they knew.
Look as long as you can at the friend you love,
no matter whether that friend is moving away from you
or coming back toward you.
Don’t let your throat tighten with fear.
Take sips of breath all day and night,
before death closes your mouth.
