Scattered Thoughts
acrylic / canvas

They are small silvery ,slippery fish
and they dance around my outstretched hand
and when I think I hold them tight
they explode from my fingers with reckless intent.
They are my thoughts but they're barely mine
as they exit the mind in treacherous flight
like scurrying rats from the drowning boat
or panicked fleas from the dead rat's hide.

They belong to the world and they spurn control
as their kin they seek out in the swirl around my life.
But I own them like water, or sunshine, or death
so they come uninvited, and visit, then leave.

I tend them and nurture and despise and despair,
smile at their antics as they catch me unaware.
Wrestle, defend them and share them with friends
and discard them like petals
on the ground beneath the rose.