The Joy is in Forgetting

I think joy comes with forgetting
With living in the moment
With time that separates itself
From everything else
From the noise
And from the heartbreak.

I can forget when I read:
Lost in a story
Whether true or make-believe.
I can forget my faults, my limitations
And find peace with myself.

I can forget when I teach:
The world shrinks down to that room
Those students
And the outside dims.
Time races.
I can find my strengths, my abilities
To question, to explain, and to respect.
I can be at peace with myself.

Thinking robs the joy
Fills time with what ifs and should haves
Awakens the beast
Of utter discontent.

But one cannot live in forgetting.

And so I ache for the moments when I forget

Only knowing them
When they have already gone away.