Week of poetry, day 2: how to be good

[ekaterinn]

how to be good

first, breathe.
breathe deep and uneven.
investigate other ways of breathing.
breathe in with your belly.
breathe out with your heart.

obtain clean bandages.
bind up others' wounds.
leave yours flayed.

wash your face in fresh streams.
scratch omens in your skin.
try not to bleed.

listen when someone says,
"penance is a noun; love is a verb."
don't believe them.
(don't quite disbelieve them, either).

when all else is smoke,
leave.