Poem: March 5, 2019

Open

I learned today that 2019
will include both my first
colonoscopy
and my first flash mob,
which while not connected,
do not seem entirely separate
either, the news of each
arriving within twenty
minutes of one another,
and let's face it, each
likely to require the same
combination of trepidation,
midwestern work ethic,
and morbid curiosity.
I bring to both ideas the wary
spirit that I bring to most
new things that fall outside
my daily routine and which
have the potential to be
equally healthy and
uncomfortable. I sigh
and say things like,
"You never know..."
I'm not the guy who runs
away from experiences,
but I wont' go looking
for trouble either.
But sometimes we know
that adventure will show up
right outside our door,
making itself too convenient
to avoid, and in those cases
I figure a certain amount
of Stoicism is required.
I doubt either activity
will make this year's top 10-
my awkward relationship
with public dancing
has only grown more stilted
over the years, and if
I were inclined to examine
my insides through the out door,
I'd likely have done that already,
but life, I've learned, tends
to be better, if when prompted,
I say yes instead of no,
if I at least play
the gracious host
to unexpected guests.