"I'd like to see it that way," a poem by Norman Fischer

"I'd like to see it that way"

(Norman Fischer)

A compendium of words was stored here

Just underneath the chimney

I'd like to see it that way

Fortune won't stand still for that

And pressure of the air flattens paper

I'd like to see it that way

One comes into the room groomed, a pleasure

There's a patch of glitter in the glamour

I'd like to see it that way

Each moment opens up sudden as an umbrella

On a day storms gather like wool

A way I'd really like to see it

So you can't assume a face again

Before the non-face puts in its appearance

Nor can you push at the door

expecting satisfaction on the other side

I'd like to see it that way

Many's the time and time for reflection

Truer than truth the subject's interconnections

I'd like to see it that way

I was born on a day absolutely unique in human history

Birds grasp their path in air

I'd like to see it that way

It's standard to pack half-a-dozen at a clip

Imagine the red thing yours alone at last

I'd like to see it that way

The image almost takes shape superimposed

As a mist on top of ordinary daily objects

I'd like to see it that way

Life goes on forever like a dusty road

Down which we peer as we drink a glass of water

I'd like to see it that way

We return again and again born into wombs

The shape of inverted ice cream cones

I'd like to see it that way

So I could relax, put on my enormous suit

And ring your doorbell holding my breath and flowers

I'd like to see it that way

In order to be able to end war but

Would war ever end or would my wanting

To end it ever end if nothing ever ended

I'd like to see it that way

Everything is standing up and falling down again

Constantly like hair in wind

I'd like to see it that way

For the good of the nation behind bars

For my own good bundled up into piles

I'd like to see it that way

I blow continuously on this thing the landscape

Crumples around me like a felt hat

I'd like to see it that way

But the problem is I put out my hand

And only clutch air wanting to understand

I'd like to see it some way

Any way as long as I could know it was there

And could pull back the covers at will

To reveal my heart's desire and measure it

I'd like to see it that way

"I'd like to see it that way" appeared in the 1989 collection Turn left in order to go right. Norman Fischer is a poet and Zen Buddhist priest, the founder and spiritual director of the Everyday Zen Foundation, an organization dedicated to adapting Zen Buddhist teachings to Western culture. He has often participated with beat generation poets, especially Phil Whalen, Gary Snyder, and Michael McClure. His latest collections of poetry are Slowly But Dearly (2004), and I Was Blown Back (2005).