how to follow not so simple instructions

Keep the pages of that manual flap
like bird wings, broad and far-reaching.
Let the mechanics dip and dive,
procedures spiral as sparrows do
over trees, between cable wires,
and from time to time beyond grasps
of our calculations. This is how
measurements impress our intelligence.
Keep it open with something heavy,
but never touch the paperweight.
Leave that pebble from Pulang Bato,
admire its estrangement from the falls.
Leave that crystal ashtray as a memento
of all we know that have passed.
Leave that mug of coffee or down it
while it is hot before we could recall
our pains are our heart’s caffeine;
they are much bitter when cold.
Use that reliable head instead.
At close range, the images on a page
would start to blur, but remember,
almost all that is dear to us is:
muse, marginalia, misunderstanding.
Even that pinprick of light could be
a torch to our heavy-lidded eyes.
Fear not the trappings of error.
When we are little, we gravitate
to the ground and walk on all fours
to walk on twos. See the foolishness
in that equation of making things easy.
What matters are the differences now
because we could never rely on sameness,
because the similes could turn against us.
There is nothing to like if all is the same.