137/365

the young man scoffs
at the middle way.
everything in moderation
feels like a cop out.
the chav more prone to
intemperance
than impermanence.

gautama awoke
and set forth the
wheel of dharma
steer clear of the
extremes,
his whispers buried
in the highlighted
passages of well-worn books.

but there has always been
more than one book
upon the young man’s shelves:

the road of excess leads
to the palace of wisdom;
for we never know
what is enough until
we know what is
more than enough.

the edge
there is no honest way
to explain it because
the only people
who really know
where it is
are the ones
who have gone over.

what use does the
middle aged man
have for the edge
and the excess
needed to find it?

don't go in and hide;
don't come out and shine;
stand stock-still in the middle.