REMEMBER

             —after Ron Padgett’s How to be Perfect

First, begin by getting out of bed earlier. 

No need to be a slug just because the pandemic is on. 

No excuses. We are not living in a bubble. 

It is important to get out 

of your nightclothes before 3 PM 

so that you have something to look forward to. 

Put a padlock on your bed if you have to.

Wash your bedding at least twice a month. 

No need to sleep like a man as my neighbor once said. 

Make sure you herd all those crumbs from the sheets. 

Don’t let them be like grains of sand at the beach. 

Speaking of beaches, when was the last time 

you actually went to the beach?

I mean really went to the beach, 

not a drive-by sighting, and got sand stuck 

in all those embarrassing nooks and crannies— 

like how are you did as a child, body surfing, 

impervious to the icy water. Why wait? 

There is only now.

Go to the tropics again. 

It’s good for more than the soul. 

Eat more mangoes on the lanai. 

Learn new words in another language. 

Fill your journal with the dailiness 

of trivial things. Go to a café. 

Write about what the guy at the next booth 

said on the phone. Imagine the caller.

Imagine the backstory. Write a play.

Go ahead. Write. It’s OK, there is no judge. 

Besides, think of the thrill of watching 

those lovely words appear in purple ink, 

the color of forgiveness, take on a life of their own. 

Not like the analytical correctness of the keyboard. 

Let your mind wander across the sky.

Doodle in the margins. 

Consider using invisible ink. 

The act of writing soothes the brain 

and God knows our poor brains need 

all the soothing they can get. 

Let the battery go dead on your cell phone. 

You don’t need it to keep in touch when 

there are more interesting ways to communicate. 

Remember to sing arias to the cat 

even if she doesn’t like it. And tries to hide.

Make YouTube videos of all your long poems 

and then sign them anonymous. 

Do not assume you will become addicted 

to those adult gummy bears your cousin gave you. 

There is no test, and besides, you will sleep better. 

And Gawd knows we all need our beauty sleep, 

no matter what the mirror insists is true. 

They’ve been known to lie before. 

Besides you’ve got your reflection on backwards 

which just confuses the brain and we’ve learned 

without knowing how to read people, 

by minute observations of eyes, mouth, nostrils. 

Know that you can’t read yourself backwards. 

Nor can you make time run backwards.

Take a selfie, then flip the image. 

You’ll see a stranger with your eyes, your mouth 

staring back at you. Ask it unanswerable questions 

and notice how the brow freeze, the nostrils flare, 

and the mind wanders off to more elemental shores. 

Add a few new items to your bucket list. 

Travel often even if it’s only around the block. 

Remember to talk to the animals 

and listen to what they have to say. 

Watch how they study your face, 

trying to decipher your alien tongue.

They’ve been students all their lives. 

And still all they understand 

are the words for food and walk. 

Think about consuming less. 

Throw out all those old wine bottles. 

What are you saving them for? 

When is the last time you baked a pie? 

Make a practice of consuming less. 

There is also the landfill of the mind,

all that detritus of the past 

cluttering up what’s left of your mind. 

Eat more vegetables—especially the green ones 

for staving off dementia is the last thing 

you’ll need to do. You get a pass on kale.

Remember to plump your pillows often,

slugging them is OK. A source of stress relief. 

Remember sleep as a panacea and it heals 

all transgressions of the body and soul. 

Remember to wear your mask in the classroom, 

admire those bright minds combusting into poetry, 

but disease will take you down with no thought at all. 

Lastly, remember to dream, don’t censor yourself 

for dreams are the only coinage you truly own.

12/28 Write On! Susie Terence prompt