First steps within…

     (Happy Mother’s Day)

“Sit down, put your hands in your lap,
  no fidgeting, no looking around.
  If you need to go to the bathroom, go,
  come back, sit down, be quiet,
  no looking around and sit straight.”

It was okay, it was time for Mom to cook supper,
no one else to watch this active young boy; only
once in a while though, but I learned to think.
There was nothing else to do for an hour or two,
and while thinking, I found that quiet place inside…

Within, which I would soon deeply explore.
From age three to nine, I sat from time
to time & learned to appreciate stillness;
and the quiet helped me hear things other
little boys knew nothing about…

that words couldn’t touch, not even these.
It’s how it all started, and she knew; and though
she didn’t understand, she knew to go with it,
while she busied with biscuits and stuffed bell peppers,
eyes curious, watching while I took first steps, eyes closed…

         …unmoving, from across the dining room…

--RK, 4:49pmCST, 5/23/2007