To Retrain an Egg

Of all the ways to avoid living, 

perfect discipline is the most admired.

                                  —James Richardson

When you apply force

to retrain an egg

that will not

sit up straight

in the carton—or, worse yet,

that delights in the altered states

of wobbly rolling

on the open counter,

freefall looming every second—

things end badly.

Life gone out.

Perfection fled.

But then,

how else will you

bring them to market

properly dressed for 

an orderly transaction?

How else will the consumer

get his money’s worth?

How will the unbroken horse

carry the general into battle?

The simple answer

is far from easy:

Not.