"You move the furniture
When you are ready for a big change.

When the couch is not here but there,
I know
Change is coming,"

Said a friend once
Long ago,
And she was right.

Looking for a new way to see things
I change the angle from which I look:

I shove the couch across the room
When I am hungry for more and better and new
Because here and now
Won't satisfy.

Years have passed
Since my friend first made that observation,
And I have discarded the couch
And tossed everything else
Into the bin.

Adjusting to the echo
Of complete emptiness,
I am learning to hear in new ways
(Where once I chose only to see),

To stand up (because there is no couch)
And to step forward.

Claim me, life,
As I would claim you.