ONE AND ONLY LIFETIME
Advice to all young whippersnappers:
How can you make the most of it?
Don’t waste your time distracted
by ominous clouds—listen for the
first songs all the birds ever heard.
Study Rilke’s letter to a young poet
who knew how to teach the essentials:
Prioritize, prioritize, and prioritize
some more, and move with alacrity,
there’s no point in marking time, or
treading water. Swim in the deep as
long as you can. Paint the beauty of
the air and if you have nothing else
to do, clap your hands to a syncopated
beat until your mother tells you it’s
time to go outside and play.