sometimes you need
a blank slate,
like this pristine
blue sky,
just to get everything
started again.
sometimes you need
to forget
so completely
you’ll never have
another nightmare.
new year’s eve turned
sharply colder
shocking away the false
impressions of ‘96.
we turned off the noise
& turned on the silence
hoping to find some
fresh tao.
sometimes you need
to take your shoes off
just to feel
the ground.