Yes, and

There's a stretch of my insides
that doesn't work right
now and then

To keep it happy
I have to put certain things
down there
and keep certain other things
away

Forever

(Which
in case you didn't know
is as long a time
as there is)

So I can think about
all the things that can't go down there
or I can think about
all the things that can
like a glass
half-full or empty
or luck
that's good or bad

Or
I can do both

I can think about pizza
and applesauce
I can think about donuts
and cheese
French fries and orange juice
Cupcakes and cucumbers
Thank-you-drive-thru and peppermint tea

They all live in my world anyway
whether I send them to my insides
or not

And if I can make a world
where things that I choose
and the things I do not
can live together

Maybe I can begin to embrace
and understand
and include
instead of fear.

Yes, and
instead of
Yes, but

And yes,
it will take some doing

And yes,
I will slip

And yes,
it will probably make me crazy
from time to time

On the other hand
this hasn't?

This has worked so well
for me
for the world
for millenia
this "Yes, but..."?

This faux-accepting
fully dismissive
discussion-stopper
of a so-called conjunctive?

How much can something join us
if it's pushing us apart?

Yes. And.

Yes,
it has always been this way

And
it is time to change.

Now, and forever.

xxx
c

Image by Allerina & Glen MacLarty via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.