The Philosopher's Club

If you’re ever asked,

“What if…?”

Or thought about,

“How would it be…?”

Or given yourself over

to asking yourself the

hard questions about

yourself, then you’re in.

If you’ve ever looked at

your shadow and wondered

if it’s looking back at you,

then you’re in.

If you’ve ever thought about

the vastness of the sky above,

then you’re in.

If you can put yourself in the

shoes of another person and see

the world from their feet, then

you’re part of it.

If you’ve stared at a bonfire and

imagined a world before electricity,

you’re there.

If you thought about Socrates, Plato,

Aristotle, any maybe read a little about

them, you’re part of it.

If you’ve thought about François-Marie Arouet

A.K.A. Voltaire, you’re in the game.

Even if you haven’t but know who they are,

you’re probably in.

You’ve drank the red wine and stayed up

till sunrise with friends, discussing the essence

of being who you are, who each other are, and

why you gather as a collective, you’re totally in.

The only membership fee is curiosity. The dues

are only your desires to know something more

than you knew yesterday.

That’s the club, and it’s likely you’re already in.

But if you’re not. If you have no idea

what this is about, then what are you

doing reading poetry?

Get back in your bubble of self-involvement

and let us worry about the shadows on

the cave walls.

You don’t know the secret handshake anyway.

(There’s a hip bump involved.)