"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Poem: Event (2012)



Couldn't quite tell you where this poem came from.  It just sort of happened.

*          *          *
 
Event



What were you doing when the sky cracked?
Were you sitting cozy at home
With a good book and a dozing cat?
Were you strolling downtown,
Window shopping
Amidst the cobblestone quaintness?
Were you idling in early evening traffic,
Quietly fuming at those who can’t grasp the concept
Of signaling a change of lane?

Did you hear the roar?
Did it rattle your windows or ribcage?
Did you feel the earth lose its footing beneath you?
Was it a lurch or a stumble,
A tumble through you-don’t-know-what
Into something you’ve never known?
Was it cold on your face
As its strange wind whispered past,
Just for a second?

When it was over,
Could you still see the gash,
Or did you ignore it in favor
Of the sunshine plaster slathered over it?
Did you want to pretend it was never there,
Like all the traffic jammers who kept on inching
And the window shoppers who kept on walking
And the homebodies who kept cozying,
Insisting that the world was just as solid
As it was before?

Or do you see something more?

No comments:

Post a Comment