When I Make A Decision I Try To See The Universe And The Ant Poem by RIC BASTASA

when i make a decision about your life
your liberty or your property
i always try to see the universe, the paths of the planets,
the way they orbit around the sun
near and far, bright or dull,
the whole
of this universe in motion like a fluid of fire
i look up
for a sign a symbol of what ought to be
and given the situation how the planets would behave
then
i look down the smallest of the ant
its tiny feet its capacity to bite and eat and swallow
the universe
into its mouth and belly,
the smallest
of all shall be considered, the details of its possibilities
the intricacies of its
wishes and dreams
tiny
and its relation to the universal, to the great view of the
giants,

the forest and the trees, the shadows and the shapes,
light and darkness,

and then liberty may be taken away, property may be forfeited,
and life may even be shut out
because the law has become the god
on that black and white
the booking sheet.