Placebo Okinhand

Come and sample

A simple remedy

Passed down on parchment

Through chapters of history

Book your appointment

Not with an apothecary 

But with a poet perhaps,

An author of literary 

A dose of this medicine,

The energy of art,

Will benefit blood pressure

And the rate of your heart

Soothing portions 

Of poetic meditation

Is better by far 

Than costly medication

Have trouble relaxing?

Take from your nightstand

The natural path to rest

And place book in hand

It's not a placebo

But truly therapeutic 

Whether or not 

You're symptomatic or sick

Travel in time 

And to other locales

Lo-cal pleasure awaits 

As you meet with new pals 

From our fractured world

Fly to foreign nations

Jettison your baggage

Fuel imagination 

For a moment, an hour

Forget your concerns

Read, read and repeat

Curled up like a worm 

---

May 7, 2016

Inspired by 

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/can-reading-make-you-happier