poem: ask much, the voice suggested, by jane hirshfield

i am loving this poem so much today.

haven't posted for several days due to getting through one of the most stressful times at my job, publishing huge appropriation bills for the beginning of the texas legislature, a starting point for the budget decisions that pay for state government services.

my part is winding down for now; i'm still feeling tension from a 70-hour work week leaving my body. this process will repeat 4 more times over the next 5 months.

i'm creating daily reminders in my email program to walk, stretch, and breathe deeply often.

i ask for more joy, more life, more connection, more laughter, more love. buckets full!



Ask Much, The Voice Suggested

Ask much, the voice suggested, and I startled.
Feeling my body like the trembling body of a horse
tied to its tree while the strange noise
passes over its ears.
I who in extremity had always wanted less,
even of eating, of sleeping.
Agile, the voice did not speak again, but waited.
"Want more" --
a cure for longing I had not thought of.
But that is how it is with wells.
Whatever is taken refills to the steady level.
The voice agreed, though softly, to quiet the feet of the horse:
a cup taken out, a cup reappears; a bucketful taken, a bucket.

~ Jane Hirshfield ~

(After)