Understory

By Mark Nepo

I’ve been watching stars

rely on the darkness they

resist. And fish struggle with

and against the current. And

hawks glide faster when their

wings don’t move.

Still I keep retelling what

happens till it comes out

the way I want.

We try so hard to be the

main character when it is

our point of view that

keeps us from the truth.

The sun has its story

that no curtain can stop.

It’s true. The only way beyond

the self is through it. The only

way to listen to what can never

be said is to quiet our need

to steer the plot.

When jarred by life, we might

unravel the story we tell ourselves

and discover the story we are in,

the one that keeps telling us.