George Such
Homemade Mantra
I am paying attention,breathing with a Buddha smile,at home in this world.
I say these words silentlythroughout the daywhen my mind narrows
my pulse, traps my breath,and leaves my fingersgripping themselves;
they bring me back to my stepson this downward slopeof Taylor Street,
the way my weightstays forward in my feetand the front of my thighs
act like brakeson gravity’s pushagainst my back,
how ivy leaves rustleand beige hearts chimeon the porch I’m passing,
Shasta daisies arranged just so,the scent of cedar barkand roses,
the way the trees lookon Lummi Island,small as goose bumps.
George Such is an English graduate student at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. In a previous incarnation he was a chiropractor for 27 years in eastern Washington. Besides reading and writing, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling, especially to India and Southeast Asia. His poetry has been published in Arroyo Literary Review, Blue Earth Review, Cold Mountain Review, Dislocate, and many other journals.
I am paying attention,breathing with a Buddha smile,at home in this world.
I say these words silentlythroughout the daywhen my mind narrows
my pulse, traps my breath,and leaves my fingersgripping themselves;
they bring me back to my stepson this downward slopeof Taylor Street,
the way my weightstays forward in my feetand the front of my thighs
act like brakeson gravity’s pushagainst my back,
how ivy leaves rustleand beige hearts chimeon the porch I’m passing,
Shasta daisies arranged just so,the scent of cedar barkand roses,
the way the trees lookon Lummi Island,small as goose bumps.
George Such is an English graduate student at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. In a previous incarnation he was a chiropractor for 27 years in eastern Washington. Besides reading and writing, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling, especially to India and Southeast Asia. His poetry has been published in Arroyo Literary Review, Blue Earth Review, Cold Mountain Review, Dislocate, and many other journals.