Lumbricus Terrestris

On a day when the world is weighty

Dark and dense with need

I want to be the earthworm

That gives itself over to tunneling

Its every movement an act

Of bringing spaciousness

And when minutes feel crushed by urgency

I want to meet the world wormlike

Which is to say grounded

Consistent, even, slow

No matter how desperate the situation

The worm does not tunnel faster

Nor burrow more

It knows it can take decades

To build fine soil

To whatever is compacted

The worm offers its good worm work

Quietly bringing porosity

To what is trodden, compressed

So often, in my rush to repair

I end up exhausted

Let my gift to the world be

My constancy, a devotion to openness

My willingness to be with what is

Let my gift to myself be patience, patience

As I tend what is dense and dark