This morning before I rise

it occurs to me

to at least say 

Thank You

to the smiling inner godlet

who walks the path of life with me,

insisting ever so repetitively

that I keep looking 

where I’m going

so as not to miss the spot

where the Yes and No 

diverge

With saintly patience,

Here! 

he chuckles

and here, and here, and here! 

ad infinitum 

urging me 

with gentle urgency

to take the brave

unthinkable step

that transmutes 

absolutely 

everything:

Say Yes, he says,

no matter what,

to all that is 

and was and will be – 

Yes, this 

is how things are right now

and this is what 

I really want to see and be

and this

was the best I could do back then

because i simply

couldn’t see

And if I listen 

and follow his advice,

my old enemy,

Reality,

turning out to be

more lithe and flexible

than I ever could have believed,

does a lovely double flip

on her trampoline

and dissolves

into the sweet embrace

of Being

The Yes

Trudi Lee Richards

Trudi Lee Richards, a poet-bard of Silo’s Message, is the author of "Confessions of Olivia"; "On Wings of Intent, a biography of Silo"; "Soft Brushes with Death"; and "Experiences on the Threshold." Exactly two of her poems have ever been published: "Fairies of the Forest," which appeared in the Palo Alto Times "Youth Said It" column in 1957, and "The Great 21st Century Poemic," which appeared in the April 2021 edition of Global Poemic (globalpoemic.wordpress.com). She also edited and published the independent San Francisco newspaper "Human Future" from 1989-1997, and before that co-founded "La Mamelle," a '70s San Francisco arts publication. A graduate of Stanford University, she helped raise several humans from infancy, and is now enjoying their friendship. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon.