It All Depends
Eventually, each of us is
asked to put all we know
into what’s before us.
It might be helping a turtle
cross a road or bringing
orange juice to a neighbor
who can’t walk after surgery.
Or listening to your mother
grieve your father one more
time. Or hiding those being
hunted in a genocide.
Though it’s harder in a world
now built on watching, our
very existence depends on
our entering the scene.
On our gumption to throw
away the brush and jump
into the canvas.
-Mark
Mark Nepo is a poet and spiritual adviser who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for over 30 years. He’s well-known for his New York Times #1 bestseller, “The Book of Awakening,” which Oprah chose as one of her “Ultimate Favorite Things” for her farewell season.