Tear out the paper.
Crush it into a ball
and throw it away.
If you miss the basket
leave it on the floor.
You are starting over.
There is no time
to waste.
Stop the conversation.
Interrupt yourself.
You’ve rehearsed this scene
a thousand times before
always ending in ruin.
Stop it. Start over.
Say something new
or say nothing at all.
Set down the screens.
Turn off the music.
Put down the bottle.
And feel
the scattered
weight of not knowing
what to think or write
or say or do next.
Expect confusion.
Anticipate chaos,
and welcome feeling
lost with open arms.
It is only when you are truly lost
that you can begin
to discover who it is
you have really been all along.
Nothing
is
certain.
Everything
is
possible.
Start
over.
