When they ask, “where do you see yourself in five years?”

The right answer is never, “here.” Nor is the right answer
the sea, though it’s what you’ve seen
with what yogis call the mind’s eye.
Your hem must rest between ambition and the knee
—just a suggestion of drive—
make them think of you with another 
life, maybe a window. Do not wax about the bees
whether it’s to keep, or paint, or save.
They want to be your nectary, pod coffee, 
Friday beer, hive mind. Don’t reflect
on how long five years can be,
that some marriages are shorter, or your mother’s fatal illness,
that a child who did not exist five years ago
can play the piano. Do not tally the weeks—
do not think about the 10,000 hours
the 32 bee-lifetimes, the floods, the new viruses. 
Your hands must ...