This was written as an exercise for the Norfolk Public Library's Writing Lab on Facebook (Norfolk, Nebraska):
in response to Rumi’s Guest House
If I am the guest house
at times there must be a broken window
shaky steps, a loose nail here or there
because this mind, this body aims toward
perfection
but does not come close to it.
With welcoming arms
I will show you in,
whether you be pain or joy,
misery or exultation.
I know visitors do not stay forever,
nothing lasts
but all persists until acknowledged.
So enter, you,
sit in my rocking chair, sip my coffee,
rest on my pillow
until that one day you take leave
through my door
ever accepting the comings and goings of
these strange guests until
one day,
this house breathes no more.
Tansy Julie Soaring Eagle Paschold
June 8, 2020
a Norfolk Public Library writing exercise on Facebook