Holy Roller

There’s no controlling it.
There’s no controlling any of it.

There’s no controlling you.
There’s no controlling us.

Montaigne got that part right.
You can take the long, wise view of life,

And your day can still be ruined
By an annoyingly dangling stirrup.

You can take a wise, calm view of death
And still be in miserable terror

Every time you pass a kidney stone.
There’s no faith or philosophy

Strong enough to put you in charge
Of your own bodily functions,

Much less the behaviors of any other
Annoyed, miserable, terrified neighbors.

Zen monks did not die composing haiku.
They wrote the haiku first, to get all set.

There’s no controlling it.
There’s no controlling any of it.

In glorious moments, it can be pleasant,
So pleasant, so wonderfully pleasant.

That’s what you get. That’s what you get
On the waves. Roll with it.