The poem

I told you in my previous post I remembered a poem after I watched Groundhog Day. In fact, I remembered this poem was told by a monk or teacher in a Buddhist class. It was more than 10 years ago from a talk by this monk. I never read the original poem until now, but I still remember some of the meaning. I talked to Steve about this poem, it sounded familiar to him too. So, he helped me find it on the web. It is by Portia Nelson:

Chapter 1

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

30.6.07 1.43pm阴