NO WORRIES, I'M GOING TO...

This is one of my favourite poems, from spoken word poet Bradley Hathaway. Do take the time to read this, it really is lovely. I have it on my iPod and it always calms me down when life seems too overwhelming. I don't believe in God but I don't mind the Christian element to his poems anyway.

" Wait, wait, wait!

Stop the press.

I woke up today without that
five million pound boulder of stress on my chest
and now I feel blessed and can rest.

Oh, to rest these weary extremities
that have been inflicted with infirmities
unseen or experienced by them before

So tell me
what does the future have in store?

(I don't know.)

But I'm just going to let today be today.

I'm going to wake up this morning
with a smile on my face
look in the mirror
brush my teeth and
not wrack my brain
wondering if she's going to call me or not
because when a girl says
"Let's just be friends",
what she really means is:
"I'm never going to talk to you again."

Accept it.
Move on.
I just did.

And then after that
I'm going to
put on my play clothes
go in the front yard
and climb that pecan tree
like I did last week
but this time
I'm not going to get halfway up there
and start debating
whether or not morality is:

A social adaptation.
A product of evolution.
Or put there by God.

I'm just going to climb the thing
and have fun like I did when I was a kid.

And after that
I'm going to go to
vertebrate zoology class
and listen to my
boring
lifeless
instructor
talk about how
there are fifty different species of minnows
in Arkansas alone.

But I'll smile
and nod
and show interest
act interested
because that really is interesting
if you think about it.

(Think about it.)

And then after that
I'm going to go home and have lunch
the same ol' lunch again!
Two more frickin' frozen El Monterey jack bean and cheese burritos
with a glass of distilled water
and an orange.

But I'll give thanks
that I do have food to eat
because so many people don't.

And then after that
I'll go to work and paint
but I'm not going to paint that
boring
eggshell
white
on that old lady's wall
like she requested.

No, I'm not going to do it.

I'm going to pretend
like I'm a
juvenile Leonardo Da Vinci
and paint a stick figure masterpiece
of a young couple
frolicking in a field of flowers
with little butterflies and gophers
popping up here and there.

(I'm sure the old lady will appreciate it later in life.)

And after that
I'm going to go have dinner with my Paw Paw
and when he cries to me
about how his arthritis is bad
his own daughter rejects him, he's sad
I'll put my arm around him and listen
watch his old weary eyes glisten
as he experiences
my love for him.

And after that
I'll go home
sit on the floor
and start singing songs
to the one that gave me this joy
that I am feeling
but it's more than just some
fleeting feeling
it's eternal truth
in which I am reeling.

And then at night
I'll lay my head to rest
without the slightest
bit of fright or fret
knowing I made the day the best I could.

And that God truly is good."

No worries, I'm going to... - Bradley Hathaway