CALM
(Resurfaced for Covid-19)
It’s all going wrong. Calm.
There’s too much. Calm.
When can I do this? Calm.
And what if? Calm.
Ahhh. !&?@*!!¡. Calm.
Calm.
No New Age balm here.
Just calm.
No unresolved resolutions;
no no.
Just calm.
Mantra calm. No mantra calm.
Inhale calm. Exhale calm.
Ageless calm. Timeless,
limitless calm.
Breathe through
Calm.
all that passes.
Calm.
Undressed of commotion
and confounding complexity;
without the a and the ity,
even calamity distills to calm.
It all passes.
Calm.
Calm.
C —
Inhale —
Calm.
Exhale —
Calm.
And when it passes,
Calm.
let it pass.
Calm.
The preceding poem was written years ago, as a meditation or incantation, to be read aloud (privately) three times. I hope you’ll try it. Amidst the fright and anxiety that sweeps us in this trying time, it felt fitting to offer anew. — esm (New Jersey)
