why they're called "blinds"

blind after blind

we Americans live our lives in boxes:

rectangles are us,

even windows are rectangles,

for many of us, 

those rectangles can release our spirits

into air and wood and sky,

get us out of the cage,

out where birds and squirrels and revelation can open us,

I feel like Johnny Appleseed as to apples,

as I open blind after blind

so that my spirit can breathe,

many close them back again

for the comfort of control.

by Henry H. Walker

March 30, ‘16