Indecision

Probably the least attractive quality in a man, 
but here I am, sinking into it.

When I lift one mud-caked boot
with a sucking sound, the other sinks deeper.

If a man says, “I don’t know,” enough,
the woman’s heart clicks like a timer

counting toward the end,
its little shield rattling.

“Whether you go up the ladder or down it,” 
says the Tao, “your position is shaky.”

Look at this mud,
how dirt and water mix—

dirt in which we’ve planted seeds,
water we can no longer drink.