and cheerful voices
and your emerging worry lines at
too young an age. I so enjoyed your clever
maneuvers to distract me from the day’s lesson.
Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
But you are still young and I feel compelled
to offer some advice to get you through your lives.
Learn how to use solitude for growth and insight.
Look at landscapes and cemeteries;
notice the texture of things.
Get out of the desert in the fall. Go someplace
that has fall colors. Paste them onto your faces,
necks, and chests. Walk proudly.
Laugh immeasurably.
Learn how silence opens the soul.
If you crave magic, paint with the brush of wind.
Walk along a river. If it’s dry, walk in it.
Wish others well, even if they cut you off in traffic.
Do things that can’t be digitized.
Say things that have no questions.
Ask questions that have no answers.
Stand your ground when it’s right;
compromise to move on.
Kiss. Don’t forget to kiss. Add fire often.
Rejoice in the variety of life.
Seek spirituality.
Remain loyal to your friends and family.
Clean off the day with a prayer of thanks.
Proper grammar will not ruin you.
Do something creative often.
Make more tracks than necessary.
Remember, there’s always a “work around.”
Praise the crack of a dried Mesquite limb.
Never forget that sound.
Learn to cook.
Read books.
No matter how old you are,
you are always young and good looking.
Remember how the kindnesses of men and women
move through the universe.
Practice redemption.
