Posts Tagged ‘free verse’
Proximity
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I remember when we used to hug
and shake hands
even though I can’t remember
the last time I did either
despite the best hopes
for some version of successfully eating out
it is getting harder
to visualize how restauranting
will ever again work for all participants
in some new form of normal
all from that invisible virus
that kills more people
than morgues have space for
while unknown numbers
present no symptoms at all
and we can’t tell who has it
from who already may have had it
from who will get it next
and masks scare some folks
while angering way too many others
and the earth doesn’t seem to notice
people are pandemic-ing to and fro
as it unleashes new hurricanes
fires, and tornado
and fire-tornados
as if everything was still normal
I remember when we didn’t worry
about shaking hands and giving hugs
but I really struggle trying to remember
what it was like
to be unconcerned about proximity
to everyone else
.
.
.
Emotions
.
in a glimpse
between love and anguish
hot tears
of mixed emotions
witness to it all
lifetimes of repetition
a war to end all wars
which failed to end any
facile progress
careening haphazardly
in multiple wrong directions
following our own tracks
right back to where we started
laughing in the face of terror
refusing to be fooled
when endings start to begin
right in the middle of everything
carefully failing to notice
the veil
behind which
we always hide
.
.
.
That Door
.
there are days when I like to pretend
I don’t know which drawer she hides her candy in
back before the virus
there were a lot of things we took for granted
it’s funny how features that haven’t changed a bit
somehow look different now
tall tales that seemed laughable when we were young and still fascinated
have grown almost scary to me now
combined with the changing angle of sunlight
and smoke from distant fires
the world is painted in a slightly different hue
it’s a long hard sigh
done more for effect than for bigger air to breathe
waiting for all the other shoes to drop
in consequence for everyone trying to make too big a hop
from one thing to another
too many humans flit around after purposeless purposes
in impassioned attempts to not settle down and allow themselves to feel
but real doesn’t simply vanish into thin air
when we neglect to slow down and actually care
for ourselves
with hymns of wailing and flailing for peace and harmony
looking for love to crawl out of our core
blossom in our bosom
if and when we come to our senses
and finally open that door
.
.
Relative Something 