Ancient Beginner

 

Why do you pretend

to be a teacher?

Be a student.

A student of cocoons,

owl music,

melting snow.

An ancient beginner

in a workshop of ferns

and meadow smells,

learning always

for the first time

to feel your feet

touch the ground,

nostrils twitch,

belly soften,

shameless yet vulnerable

as a larva sleeping

under a stone.

Such lessons require

lifetimes of practice,

of listening,

of gratitude.

Why do you pretend

to be a teacher?

Be a student

of the melting snow.

Painting by Andrew Wyeth