If you would hear the gods gambol and laugh,
their rumbling chuckles echo through the land,
and tickle divine humor, pick a path
based on a well-conceived and thought out plan.
You need not start out on it. Not one bit
of progress is required, so long as all
your fervent hopes and dreams are tied to it
in theory. Say, for instance, in the fall
you’d hoped to fix the house up, rearrange
the furniture, or patch the bathroom tile.
No great ambition, nothing wild or strange;
yet at the gods’ lips, a slow grinning smile
begins to form the moment you believe
the universe and you have found accord,
that fate and karma have dealt you reprieve
against those good deeds done, so long ignored.
With busyness you occupy your mind,
engaging one idea after the next,
until a peaceful moment, when you find
a chance to just relax and to reflect,
and there, under the silence, you can hear
the stifled guffaw of the universe;
then, suddenly, the truth becomes so clear:
you either laugh, as well, or things get worse.
14 JUN 2005
