At some point I noticed
I was thinking of the day
in terms of enduring  –
waiting out the heat till evening,
so I took a cold shower
and sat on the porch in the shade
listening to cicadas and quiet  birds

I’ve been training myself to step away
from the clenched pause from enjoyment
I called enduring,
to recast that quality
as a more alert patience,
a nimbler approach to living the moments
I will traverse anyway
and might as well enjoy.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 26  2021