Knowing Your Perimeters Poem by RIC BASTASA

knowing your perimeters is not an easy job,
not really expensive, but it takes the mind of the pensive man,
the wiles of the wise and the wit of the wounded

who am i? where am I? what am i?
where am i heeded? where i will stop?
what can i do? what i cannot do?

knowing the length of your arms and feet
the distance of your vision
and knowing what you can touch and
see, and knowing what you cannot
even touch and see no matter how
wide you open your eyes

knowing your place, your fences, the limits
of your garden, the source of your water,
your air, your food, the quiet imagination

knowing what you can give and you can hold,
knowing what you can let go
and what you must keep in your heart forever

knowing the limits of your mind
the stretch of your hands, the number of times that
you can blink your eye,
the right time to fear and the right time to kill
the right time to love and the right time to hate
or just be the foolish man who is so indifferent

i know my limits and i mark my boundaries.
please do not go any further. i am just staying
within the bounds of my hands and feet.
i am seeing you and i am warning you.

i have this detonator. My finger is ready.