Poetry - 2016

The stench of hatred settled comfortably in valleys

Scaled mountains

And spread confidently across the plains 

Until everyone grew used to it

The victim mongers and the scapegoats alike

As one might get used to a chronic illness that is slowly killing him

Ignoring the pain and forgetting the love hidden for a rainy day

I stand before that artifice called time

That conjures up anxiety in my calmness

And calmness in my anxiety

I hold it at bay knowing full well the futility of my effort

Before succumbing to its endless march

And finding ever more urgency in my steps

Drop me in the mailbox and see where I will go
It’s bound to be an ocean voyage on a ship that’s very slow
I may enjoy the lap pool or a walk along the deck
But certainly not a formal ball with jewels around my neck

My suitcase will be tiny
My wardrobe very small

You won’t hear me complaining
When we chit-chat on a call

And don’t expect me to stay onboard when we pull into a port
“The world awaits, so let’s explore,” I’ll undoubtedly retort 

The lands and oceans below me consume the day-to-day minutiae that drains me

Although I am weary and drawn toward sleep, I awaken refreshed as the world teases me with its newness

A veil that had settled over me drifts off almost imperceptibly until quite suddenly I am aware of that I could not be present to  

I knew the time would come
When my youthful glow would fade
My speed edge drop off
And my memory falter
But I did not imagine the gifts
Of perspective
Of experience
Of wisdom
Nor the drive
To push for better
To ignore convention
And to question endlessly
And ask why not
I did not know the time would come
When my self-imposed restraints would give way and I would be delivered to a new age of freedom