Backyard Coffee Break

When you look out at the backyard,
away from the drama in your head,
when you push up from the shallow
ground, your worries subside. You see
your shrubs and bushes differently,
and the fun begins. It’s all good.
Old Age. Do what you want. Don’t
say sorry. Don’t hurry anymore.
Open the slider in the morning.
Journal a few lines. No one will bother
to read the scribble. It’s OK. Obsess
over trimming the oleanders.
Bend the branches.
Educate them in ways to grow.
Move pots around the patio. Admire
the garage sale rooster.
Read Wendall Berry’s Peace of Wild Things.
Be here now, like Baba Ram Dass.
Don’t let Mr. Guilt snake
into the chair, slime into your head.
Go fill your coffee cup.