When the pain was fresh,
for a while the problem was very clear

and the clarity constituted a kind of relief
as if the problem had withdrawn
to watch what you would do.

But after a while the clarity began to fade,
And three days later you could no longer articulate
Precisely what the problem was

and three days after that you forgot
That there even was a problem,
and your old way of thinking resumed.

You’re just a citizen
of your own familiarity
who can’t remember a different way.

You go along and every now and then
the path jumps out from under you.
And you have learned to expect this upheaval,

as much as that is possible.
One might say it is with a kind of fidelity
that you keep making your mistakes,

As if you were following a sign
that said, this way to freshness.

the situation by tony hoagland