Consternation Course Correct Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

if as a grownup in conversation
you suddenly feel in the situation
as you did in school as you did in grammar school
when someone punched you in the stomach
and stole your milk money
as if something was a little funny, straged,
off the rail
do not fail my child to flee
the skies are curdled
let them be
seek the shelter of the far off trees
murmuring, as if, to Dick Whittington
turn, turn home again;
murmuring in the soothing wind
the angels their protection lend there
uneasy currents do not lie
skip the need to say goodbye
to the artful bleeders of the light in you
and don't stoop down to tie your shoes
adjust your sash, get uninvited to the party
whether it's now or in the past
go back through the looking glass
find the swift way to depart;
guard the jewel of your heart.

mary angela douglas 10 may 2023