Resistance
Resistance
By Esther Cohen
At meditation this morning
I don’t usually go but morning meditation
on the Big List always instructor
woman with four children pretzel body
said the word we will look at today
is Resistance. Tell me what you think. Room
full of people who knew one another
regulars certain kind
of meditator mildly appealing familiar
thinnish good natured psychoanalyzed
I’m not sure why I spoke. Courage I said.
Resistance seems courageous. Easy to see what’s
wrong. Always harder to fight. Warsaw. France. I gave
many examples. Didn’t say 45. Teacher was puzzled but
she smiled in the way of Nice Try. Anyone else
she said. A woman who looked like she too could
become a pretzel beautiful white hair said
I resist so much in myself. There was the
agreement hum teacher gave her the Right Answer
nod and I wondered if I’d return I hadn’t given
an answer she wanted remembered Noah
in middle school explaining how students do best
when they tell the teacher what she wants
and I said well I hope that isn’t you.
Esther Cohen is a cultural activist who posts a daily poem at esthercohen.com