Percy (Nine)

Your friend is coming I say
to Percy, and name a name

and he runs to the door, his
wide mouth in its laugh-shape,

and waves, since he has one, his tail.
Emerson, I am trying to live,

as you said we must, the examined life.
But there are days I wish

there are less in my head to examine,
not to speak of the busy heart. How

would it be to be Percy, I wonder, not
thinking, not weighting anything, just running forward.

~ Mary Oliver, from Red Bird

This poetry is for those of us who thinks too much, and yearn sometimes for a simpler way - a way of living more spontaneously, more carelessly. To be overly conscious sometimes brings with it a certain kind of pain.

PS: Photo of Mary Oliver and Percy - the actual dog Percy - here.