Focus
She spends all day
watching a barren twig
pulsate in the winter breeze,
everything dry,
everything waiting.
She figures she can wait too,
because there’s something else,
there has to be something else,
and she’ll sit patiently
focusing on something
she has no desire to control.
Sure, she could walk outside,
grab the low-hanging twig
from the leafless behemoth
erupting from the frozen dirt,
she could grab that twig,
break it off, and then what?
There have been times in her life
where she wanted to let it all
burn down to ashes and nothing,
but that red eyed version of herself
is so far in the rearview,
she almost doesn’t recognize it.
So instead she sits on her side of the glass
watching the thin little twig
do its tireless winter dance,
and she patiently waits
for something to happen.
About the Author: James Benger is the author of several books of poetry and prose. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Writers Place, and the Riverfront Readings Committee, and is the founder of the 365 Poems in 365 Days online workshop. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and children.
Image Credit: Léon Spilliaert: Vijgenboom in de winter, Grasse (1922) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 