Don’t ignore that quiet voice inside you
the one that cautions you to rest hydrate eat well
and take time to savour la jouissance of life
or it will grow
into more than just a whisper
perhaps become a nagging discomfort
or a knowing
a dis-ease
unable to side-step your awareness
Let it heckle your inertia
encourage your attentiveness
challenge you to face yourself
in between amongst aside from
all the business of daily life
Like a loose thread
let it unravel the tension that bubbles beneath the surface
knocking against your temples
coiling around your heart
sinking its teeth into the fabric that makes you who you are
Don’t be drawn to life’s rigours
as if they were your Alpha and Omega
leaving the body mind and spirit
careless respite
to languish with whatever little crumbs
you care to leave behind
You won’t survive
such a relentless assault
not with every bit of you intact
Inevitably as life will have it
a glitch will catch you when you are
least inclined to look
Instead allow yourself often
to inhale
deeply fully and in communion
with every inner cell that
bathed in the splendour of your breath
does nothing more or less
than what is right and to be expected
Exhale too with consciousness
bidding a thankful farewell to
every toxic thought and memory
making each present moment
the focus of a life lived with deliberate intention
Treat your body with a merciful hand
shaping its integrity from the inside out
like a master craftsman
whose envy is his work
Let nutrition be the key
to that redemption
remembering always
that when faced with
the pernicious hand of fate
you are more than what your genes dictate
Of course even if only to escape life’s treadmill
don’t forget to move
or jump walk run and dance
jostling your body into action
with frequency and purpose
Your insides are after all the sum total of
the vitality you yourself bestow
Don’t I implore
ignore that quiet voice inside you
as I did
allowing life’s ills to distract me from myself
I paid the price
am here though as harbinger of hope
It’s never too late
to greet yourself anew
redress neglect
and hold each infinitesimal part
of you in awe with the respect owed to
you as warrior and shield in
what is ultimately
your own defence
