Penelope, 05.21.07

can you be untaught something,
unweave a lesson wrapped around
the brain, disentangle it from
the blue, the red, the delicate threads?

if so: what do you do with
the unwanted knowledge?
turn it into hand-me-down wisdom,
or donate it to some charity?
do you mend the tears,
try to replace the forgotten bits
like buttons, or just toss it in the bin?

and what will fill that empty space?
something else that will later require
another careful unwinding?
something worse, which will demand scissors?

or something better which will be
more than woven, more than stitched:
it will be dyed into the fabric of your mind,
will color the delicate blue and red
something more: the color of water,
the edge of evening,
smoke on the far side of the sun,
and the whispery tongue of a fire.

---
MWL
05.18.07
edited: 05.21.07