At One: Learning to Walk

the enso

"Birthdays Only Come Once a Year" by marlowe

the poem

You’re not yet used
to this feeling, the uncertainty
and nausea as you see-
saw from one tentative step
to the next, watching your world teeter
with you, not quite convinced
the hardwood floor is solid.

No, you won’t feel
like this again
for another 11 years,
after you take your first boat
ride, and then
again, and additional 6 years
later, when you get so drunk
the dorm room spins
like a nuclear physics sign.

No, for now you
are learning to walk,
noting new lessons
about gravity and faith.