Valley Voice original poem: 'Sestina (It’s Time to Go Green)'
There's something to be said for taking stairsinstead of an elevator. Sometimeslife is seen from the bottom of a well;for example, my blood pressure was high,again, at the doctor's this afternoon.And I wasn't even one bit nervous;
At least, consciously. What makes me nervousis the thought that if I don't take the stairsI may not live to see the afternoonof my life. One has to take stock sometimes.I need to stop seeking the sugar high,cut the caffeine, and eat vegetables. Well,
I'll try harder (I want to be well);It's time to go green, which makes me nervous.And it's not just because the stakes are high,or the taste is plain rotten; like the stairsI just gotta do it. There are some timeswhen confidence comes, like this afternoon:
It was like any other afternoonexcept "green lunch" didn't go down too well.I try to branch out (going green sometimes),but can feel the stomach getting nervousoutside my comfort zone; feel it downstairsin the gut (pain tolerance is not high
here). And nothing compares, so far, to the highsugar brings. Vegetables in the afternooncan bring you down; and I mean down the stairsto desolation's despair. To feel well again,I drove to McDonald's (and a nervousdrive it was getting there, too). Though sometimes
habits are hard to break (there are some timeswhen I ask: What's the point? Then take the highroad), the alternative makes me nervous.So it's salad, again, by this afternoonfor me (I know I'll get used to it. Well,"bear's" a better word here). As for the stairs,
getting high (up stairs) ain't easy sometimes,but you get there. Well, by this afternoon.
Michael Seeger is a poet and educator residing in Cathedral City. Prior to his life as a middle school English instructor, he worked as a technical writer for a baseball card company and served as a Marine infantry officer during Desert Storm. Email him at Hemingwayhero@dc.rr.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Valley Voice original poem: 'Sestina (It’s Time to Go Green)'
