Redirect

Within myself

I note the quiet purr and hum

of feelings, how they create thoughts

to prop them up, stories to sustain

their longer lives

I notice I can choose what I will feel

by careful observation of the stories

It is enough, it seems, to notice.

Then the feelings look up, startled

and forget what they were on about.

I can take them by their manes

and lead them home to calmness.

We can laugh together, a little,

I can redirect them —

Not every dip deserves descending into,

not every story testifies to truth.

©Wendy Mulhern

March 7, 2017