Sesshin Instructions

The dream we sleep in
is slated for demolition.
Sound travels slowly in this old house.
Feet travel faster. Hurry, hurry.
We must sound the alarm.
We must save the flashlights, the fire extinguishers,
the wax apple off the altar with a bite taken out.
We must save everything.
It will take just a minute,
one minute after another.
After innumerable eons,
I will meet you on the back deck.
We will count each others' heads.
When that day comes,
may we have no more than one each.

-Hugh Thomas