If you never smell the flowers, who will know
Their doux parfum?
Listen to their wondered cries and hear their
Melancholy hum?
If you never take a breath or
Catch a glimpse of where you rest
You may just take a step to far and abbreviate your quest.
If you never let your lips lull motionless
And give your ears authority
You will ignore your heart’s last cry for
It’s auscultation holds priority
Suddenly life seems so quick
Too short
Like a stub of wax
Casting shadows on the wall,
The lights we use to find our paths seem
Exorbitantly small
No time to trip, no time to pause, no time for
Failure, feelings or for falter
We know so little and
Claim so much
Our minds caught in homemade alters.
If I never stop to smell the flowers
Take a breath
Or lend an ear
I’ll know I’ll have wasted
Countless hours
Trying not to hear.