Instruction in Meditation (Poem)

Instruction in Meditation

You have one square inch
of quiet space. Take a look

around. Measure the borders
that frame your boundaries,

limiting what gets in, what goes
out. Consider how much

room you give up each time
you exhale, how your thoughts,

large before so terribly small,
move unevenly at once, pushing

you hard to make a connection.
Make the effort to listen

for what you cannot see without
trying. Write the thick taste

of honey on your tongue.
Utter the sacred syllable of Om

and let the sound that is
your past, present, and future

empty itself beyond silence. It is
then your mind, responding

to nothing at all, gives way, a dam
not breaking the rush of water.

© 2013 Maureen E. Doallas