THE SHAKEDOWN

Burgle your own home.

Ransack it.

Throw open the cabinets,

the cupboard drawers,

empty everything out.

Turn the furniture upside down.

Spill your purse, your wallet, your pockets

onto the kitchen floor.

What you have hidden 

from yourself 

should be in a shambles

at your feet.

Shed all your layers.

Step out of your skivvies.

Stand there shivering naked

in the middle of this self-shakedown,

with a mirror as your only witness.

From this place

begin again.

Learn how to say thank you.

And remember:

Keep nothing, nothing

from yourself 
ever again.