The Day Comes When You Become The Center Of The Universe Poem by RIC BASTASA

You sit in the middle of your house
The chairs and table and the trunks
Have become the planets that
Revolve around you.
You close your eyes and keep
Your arms beneath you.
You become the sun and the
Slits of lights coming from the
Leak of your roof and the windows
And shutters and blinds
Become your stars.
The silver basin on the sink
Has become your moon.
You clench your fists.
Your room has become
The empty space of your
Self-made universe.
The world is silent in its
Wholeness. You float and you
Travel alone along the edges
Of emptiness.
The morning comes and the
Dog opens your door
Licking your feet and face
And wagging its tail to
Catch your attention.
It sees you: bald, untrimmed
Beard, stinking skin, loose skin
In the arms and neck, broken teeth,
Bloated guts, crooked backbone.

It is the dog that loves you
You are its truth.