A Look Too Long

Snow. Another day in February
and you are standing. Gazing.
In no hurry for warmth and safety.
content
to simply watch. To feel the space and time.
To allow the energy of the moment
soak into your soul.

You have spent too much of your life
moving too fast to see,
too content to survive, do,
movc to the next place
programmed to fight or flee.
Programmed not to trust silence,
to decide and move
before the next tiger leaps,
claws and teeth bared.

And yet there is power in stillness.
It is rarely trusted by the enemies.
Wild animals are unsettled by it.
Lovers and children do not feel comfortable
under the still gaze
that tells you more than you are supposed to know.

About this poem

I like to stop. To look at things longer than most. To look at people longer and more intently than most. I am told it makes people uneasy. But I am slow to learn and believe that savoring is healthier for our soul than the fight or flight we were made for. When I have the time to stop, gaze, really look at my world, it is a much better place to be. Not because it is, but because I am.

The photograph was taken in North Adams, Mass.

Tom