At meditation this morning
I don’t usually go but morning meditation
is on the Big List the instructor
a woman with four children a pretzel body
said the word we will look at today
is Resistance. Tell me what you think. Room
full of people who knew one another
regulars a certain kind
of meditator mildly appealing familiar
thinnish good natured psychoanalyzed
I’m not sure why I spoke. Courage I said.
Resistance seems courageous. Easy to see what’s
wrong and harder to fight. Warsaw. France. I gave
examples. Didn’t say 45. The teacher was puzzled but
she smiled in the way of Nice Try. Anyone else
she said. A woman who looked like she too could
become a pretzel beautiful white hair said
I resist so much. I fight myself. There was the
agreement hum the teacher gave her the Right Answer
nod and I wondered if I’d return I hadn’t given
the answer she wanted and I remembered Noah
in middle school explaining students do best
who tell the teacher what she wants to hear
and I said well I hope that isn’t you.