Illness, Wellness
what we don’t know but could have seems like magic
an inhaled cluster of virus or some spread
unwashed hand to face to gut
it cages us, we’re being bled and abandoned
a small boy once visited a slaughterhouse
watched with horrified fascination
the origins of hamburger
When it’s over (is it?) we return
to relish then ignore wellness
as it reoccupies us limb and trunk
but mainly mind or rather no-mind
‘that perfect unadorned perception’*
before we mind it
can you feel your toes? stand without dizziness?
No matter. We have daily stuff to do.
In an idle wellness moment, we consider
what these say to each other, illness and wellness
a rush of descriptions and counters
of blame and disclaim like politics
and what to us. The ‘us’ that lurks offstage
watching with otherwise useless compassion.
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*https://www.dailyzen.com/journal/the-mind-of-no-mind-mushin-no-shin/
The Dog Star 
2 Responses to “Illness, Wellness”
watching with otherwise useless compassion…indeed
Yep. It’s its only use. And it tells us a great deal about whatever else we use and value.