143/365

acedia, the noonday devil:
a sadness about
spiritual goods,
a disgust with activity.
an affliction
that attacks desire,
it manifests itself
in listlessness
and distraction,
in wanting to avoid
ambition.

it could look
like sitting around,
doing nothing,
busying oneself with
anything and everything
but the necessary duty.

doing stuff
not doing stuff,
doing all the things to avoid
the giftedness of the moment.

this age is dependent on
the idea of distraction –
of moving attention
to something that is not
what needs to be done right now.

acedia, the noonday devil:
gets fought when
the day is organized properly.

finding those three or four
most important tasks
and ordering them properly—
everything else will fall into place.

it makes us think
that we can’t enjoy
anything, but today
you repotted a few plants,
played games with the children,
came close to finishing the book,
noticed the sunset,
all while haggling    
with the noonday devil.