Let me live in the place
where there’s no game of better,
no game of not better either –
no grades or ratings,
no reflexive search
for what is wrong,
to make occasion
for being right

Let me wean myself
from that addicting food
which never satisfies,
but keeps me craving for
another dose of wrong
to point my finger at,
to show my smarts against –
It doesn’t have to be that way

Nudged by the wild plant lady,
I took a bite from the new growth
of douglas fir –
It was, as she said, refreshing,
surprising citrus before expected resin,
still tender to the tooth

And as she said,
I felt that it could nourish me
for many miles of walking,
and I could think of it as a gift,
I could be mindful every time I thought
of biting off another shoot –
take what is freely offered,
leave plenty behind.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 28, 2020