Worry is a talisman
That I touch and count
Like a rosary
Every bead is every thing
That ever might go wrong
And every touch wards it off
Worry uses up my hands in
Counting beads like an abacus
So swift is the movement of my fingers
That they are a blur
So involved is the action that I am
Paralyzed to do anything else but worry
It is common that we are told
Not to fear making mistakes
That each mistake advances experience
And confidence
And brings us further from worry
But having made the dreadful mistake
Whose birth I counted over and over
Whose bead I held in my hands
Sweating
And seeing what it held for me
I want you to know that the things you worry about
Are as bad as they promise to be
And as much as worry is paralyzing
So is every thing you are trying to ward off