Tasks

 

Start with something small

like breathing in the stars,

holding trillions of them

in your chest, to light up

every atom in your body.

Then breathe out, giving

each a new name 

and more darkness,

more space to polish

with the beauty of fire.
Let this exhalation caress
the lake, the forest, the city,

touching every heart,

the heart of fur and feather

as well as the human heart.

Then move on to larger tasks, 

like listening 

to a stranger at the coffee shop,
or smiling at a serious baby

who rides backward

in a grocery cart.

Then come home 

to the greatest work,

healing the earth 

with your naked toes.