Poetry by Cecil Morris
Learn from the cat. Settle in sunny spot and stretch
oblivious to obligation or cascading shoulds
or judgmental stares. Let the bones go loose,
all muscles relaxed and negligent.
Turn off notifications and ringers,
all beeps and trills and buzzing vibrations
that call the mind from its rightful work
of undirected cogitation.
Commit to silence for one hour
each morning and each night and, maybe,
each noon, too. Take those quiet hours
to notice the world at its business—
the pale shoot splitting the sunflower seed
to seek the sun, the unhurried humming
of a bee progressing from blossom
to blossom, the tulip’s reverent pose,
the way a bit of dust can levitate
in a slice of light. Do not make haste.
Every moment does not need to yield
a product or an accomplishment.
Laziness is a healthy pleasure
so make of its indulgence an art.
Make of indolence a new hobby.
Linger over a favorite song.
Let it play twice.
Enjoy.
Cecil Morris retired after 37 years of teaching high school English, and now he tries writing himself what he spent so many years teaching others to understand and (he hopes) to enjoy. Poems appear or are forthcoming in Ekphrastic Review, Hole in the Head Review, Rust + Moth, Sugar House Review, Willawaw Journal, and other literary magazines.
