in the heart of everything

you don't have to be tipsy
or gushing or teary,
you don't have to oil
these slimy pedestals
you want to climb,
you don't have to shower them
with this confetti of praise,
you don't have to
prove your worth
to anyone,
you don't have to glow
in the whites
of these hungry eyes,
you don't have to live
your unlived life,
you don't have to
use a pawn for service,
you don't have to
play this game right;

for your game is up,
even as you make your plans
and get ready to play.

gratitude doesn't stand
on thought or reason,
it doesn't need a ground,
it doesn't fill you,
it's always there
waiting for you to look,
it shimmers with the fullness
of being who you are,
when you rest
without a yearning
in the heart of everything,
that is and isn't
what you call
you and me.