Uncommon One

Uncommon One

in the garden of statutes

where rules multiply like weeds

& stones lie about

like scruples

every step is a misstep

in misadventure

my ways are not steadfast

nor my path clear

fallen fruits

ripen towards a crisis

break a snail

underfoot

& the roses

shiver disaster

crush a flower

with your heel

& the frogs

croak catastrophe

offend the sun

with a dismal glance

& the heron broods

at the water’s edge

disturb a duck egg

in the thick grass

& the elms

grow misty all over

said the serpent by the pool —

‘the rule itself

is the fault

the denial of free-will

a crime’

& he leads you

from the pond

to a world

beyond the garden

where forty days of temptation

await you

you walk until the frogs

no longer sing in your blood

& the flowers

forget to sigh

& for the first time

a crisis does not come