Sophrosyne
       

You break bread into small pieces.
Sometimes the day is better
taken in low doses so you can see

how it breaks down in the body.
Morning, for example, can be digested
gradually, a whole grain meditation

that keeps the boat from sinking
before noon. You could wrap a morsel
in cloth and send it out into the world

to see if it will multiply. The day's work
is a phone call to an emergency number
full of urgency and confusion

from smelling the smoke without
finding the fire. We can take it slowly.
Start with the crust and work our way

toward the center. A grain of wheat
grows in its own time, as the day opens
steady and parceled so we taste it all.

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Copyright © 2016 Donelle Dreese All rights reserved
from Sophrosyne
Aldrich Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission