when you just can't seem
to simmer down;
when you're rigid, too
excited, or burning
with anger;
it might be helpful to try
and imagine
that, once, you were
a mighty glacier—
so huge
as to border on vague
and all-pervasive.
You were the best
at eating rocks
and spitting back
deep and enormous
lake basins,
and although the work
was pain-
fully slow,
you would never lose
your temper;
rather, you were the continent's
foremost expert
at remaining abstract
while dispassion
took over.
And when your last task
was finally done,
you were only
too glad
to relax
and gradually
assume the new shape
of your container.
