The Road To That Surprise

Whatever you thought was going to happen,
prepare for the difference. By which I mean,

you cannot prepare for the difference, so prepare
to be caught by surprise. This rule will hold

until you are old enough to have seen it all
and done it all.  By which I mean, it holds 

for as long as you live — by which I mean,
life tends to last as long as your sense 

of surprise at how it unfolds. By which I mean
we are not familiar with how many folds

there may be to undo, and there
has never been anyone who learned that

and came back to tell us. Whatever we think
of that, we have to live with it right up to the moment

we learn it for ourselves, by which I mean
hold me, it’s not so far off that I can be cold

to its approach, and I long for a partner
on the road to that surprise.