Grow excited by the possibility
of pure belief — belief being
the state of not knowing something empirically —
the possibility of never having to “know” anything
ever again!
Imagine waking to a day without
having to be smart
about the things you’ve always known.
Imagine taking a baby’s delight and terror
as your only guide for how to live.
There in the trees — don’t call it a robin —
you don’t know a thing
about mating calls, territorial marking,
communication among others of the same species.
Call it a song, a ghost, and perhaps
a deity speaking only to you: oh, for
the chance of a personal, naive experience
with the universe!
Treasure it, the baby’s mind,
it will not last long enough to matter
for a moment past this one —
you’ll translate, ask questions, frame it
immediately, become smart again. But imagine this moment,
this innocence — imagine that
it could last. That emotion by itself
may carry you over the hump
of becoming human
right into a new being.
