A Letter To...

“a letter to the reincarnation”

this is a legacy that you as i
will carry in another body:

1.
don’t overthink breathing. instead,
take air in consciously—a three-part breath
to fill ribcage collarbones the exit of the nose.

consume the six o’clock news similarly.
digest the handful of wrongs broadcasted
and forgive and do better—you as i
appear now to do better,

so don’t use npr as fuel for timely poetry;
don’t fall in love to fulfill a story;
maybe protest in florida—you do not
have to be in baltimore to be upset.

all lives matter. samsara
every version of you carries truth.

2.
memory is undone in the cycle.

karma will be yours as mine
without full disclosure.

but you as i can run long distances
like a man’s love dispersed into swimming
sperm that reaches the egg first.

your birth is contact—a union of lives
and a potential future.

you as i are of many children
translations of one source—one being
the most accurate.

3.
it takes time to find words
the right one in an expanding
vocabulary, you as i articulate.

4.
in another body, do not slouch
or neglect flossing daily. stand
on your head and your hands
because that could be wisdom.

flip a photo around to see what is there.

a visual koan—we expect symbolism
and something to go ouuu ahhh to.

5.
don't hold onto chance or fall into
“it won’t happen to me” syndrome.



maybe it’s better to think we cannot be born again.

6.
maybe we’ll become buddha
in this life; maybe we’ll grow hair
without shame.