the gods are not large

But perhaps

the heart

does not want

to be understood.

Your shadow

falls on its pond

and the small fish

hurry away.

They have

their own lives

which they love.

And if to you

it is anger,

bewilderment,

grief,

to then

it is simply life:

their mouths

open and close,

their gills,

they are fed,

they breathe.

The gods

are not large

outside us.

They are the fish

going on

with their own

concerns.

~ Jane Hirshfield