side door

i want to tell you
a secret
they may not have told you
(they didn't tell me)

like all secrets,
it's been hiding
in full view

(you will most certainly
recognise it
from harry potter,
alice in wonderland,
sleeping beauty,
and other great
modern artists)

the secret is a door

that keeps changing shape

(a hole in a tree, the arch between two legs, an opening in the forest that looks nearly like a path, the space between your baby's teeth)

but is always there,
recognisably itself

on the side, and small

it is a door to love, patience, time, peace of mind, joy, acceptance, connection, truth, freedom

or...

... whatever else you are seeking

(have lost, wish to find)

unlike other
better
known
doors
ports
highways
paths
bridges
labyrinths

that lead to all these things (love, patience, time, presence) (lost, found) and more

this one does not

require you to have

read the small print, followed the steps, found your teacher, taken the medicine, practised the sequence, chanted the mantra, gone through the moves, taken your time, solved the problem, formulated the question, found an answer, discovered a solution, accepted the inevitable, developed a theory, gained experience, made peace with your childhood, examined your soul, fixed the leaks (in your bucket or your heart), resolved the tension, worked through the anger, embraced the sadness, or any

of the other things you could (you can, you might, i know i will)

spend a lifetime doing (and oh, it would, it will, be life well-spent)

it is open to
all
at all times
without ticket
id
or proof that you are

worthy, ready, or deserving

just turn your head
one quarter (or so) (this ain't no newton physics)
to the right
to the left
whichever way you fancy

there.

see it?

you can open it (it's never locked)

and any time,
walk through