Poem: Out of an Abundance of Caution

Out of an abundance of caution
I shot myself in the foot and
Flew too far from the sun

Out of deeply ingrained integrity
I offered up myself for target practice and
Told the truth at exactly the wrong times

Out of a finely-tuned sense of justice
I repurposed the doctrine of Original Sin and
Lost myself looking for a solution

*

With one eye on the past
I edited my utterances before the fact and
Apologized for what I didn’t do

With sublime concern for the other
I manifested an immune disorder and
Went three years without sleeping

With exquisite discernment
I threaded the same needle over and over and
Saw myself getting smaller in the rear view mirror

 

M. Bogen
September 2023