Hinge

All it takes
for a car to float away
is three inches of water.

All it takes 
to learn fear of the world
is the sound of gunfire or 
explosions, the shatter of glass. 

You've forgotten 
how many muscles it takes 
to smile versus frown, how long 
it takes for a wound to scab over 
before it heals.

All it takes
to forget is to throw
yourself into work, into activity,
not for a moment letting the mind
sink into that bottom drawer which  
it might not want to leave again.

What does it take
for the mind to relearn 
what it used to joyfully 
carry; what it promised,  
yet somehow did not do?

All it takes
is a doorway, a hinge
that swings it back
the other way, 
or open.