Mind Wanting More
Only a beige slat of sun
above the horizon, like a shade
pulled not quite down. Otherwise,
clouds. Sea rippled here and
there. Birds reluctant to fly.
The mind wants a shaft of sun to
stir the grey porridge of clouds,
an osprey to stitch sea to sky
with its barred wings, some dramatic
music: a symphony, perhaps
a Chinese gong.
But the mind always
wants more than it has—
one more bright day of sun,
one more clear night in bed
with the moon; one more hour
to get the words right; one
more chance for the heart in hiding
to emerge from its thicket
in dried grasses—as if this quiet day
with its tentative light weren't enough,
as if joy weren't strewn all around.
Copyright Credit: Poem copyright ©2004 by Holly J. Hughes, "Mind Wanting More," from Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems (Grayson Books, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Holly J. Hughes and the publisher.