Poem - Learning to Waiting to Learn

Learning to Waiting to Learn

All those bad relationships

were just unripe peaches

eaten too soon

hard and dry

where they should be

soft and juicy

yet we get seduced

by the how sweet it could be

missing altogether the how

sweet it is

or isn’t

My friend says the difference

between a restaurant

and cooking at home

is that you have to eat

your mistakes at home

No one bites into a not perfect peach

and tosses it. We don’t waste like that.

We do waste, but not like that.

They’ll keep biting and biting

hoping for that one perfect bite

down to the pit. The hard thing

in the middle that offers nothing

unless placed in fertile soil.

We are creatures of optimism

even the pessimists

as we are creatures of evolution

even the creationists

We will keep going and going

thinking it will get better. It will.

Toss the peach. Let it decay

compost the soil. Let the pit split emit
seeds of sweet juicy futures

for generations marveling at a peach tree

on the sidewalk of a Brooklyn street

wondering where did that come from

then wait

as long as it takes

for the ripe one

in the meantime

there are other things to eat

kale and collards

books and songs

wait for the right one

you can know it by its scent

the velour of its touch

when it comes

be gentle

it is soft, sweet

and contains an

elixir you won’t want to spill

not even a drop.

c. 2014

e. amato

#np Jonathan Wilson