Monday, May 23, 2011

Tempus Incognita

I have queued up some older poems to be posted while I am away on a trip.  They are still my poems, though, and I hope to have a bunch of new ones to share when I get back.

                                                     Tempus Incognita

                                           We buy a new calendar each fall
                                            and fill in our planned events ,
                                            planting our flags on days
                                            as if they were islands the explorers
                                            claimed for some distant king.

                                           We map the future in regular squares,
                                            the present our prime meridian, but
                                            all projections remain distortions,
                                            and with the passing days,
                                            the crisp lines of demarcation blur
                                            as dentist appointments drift into
                                            staff meetings and
                                            vacations collide with
                                            court cases.

                                            Still, we hang the calendar inside
                                            the front door with no
                                            serpents on its borders,
                                            a banner reminding us of
                                            hope and order as we go
                                            bravely into the new world
                                            each morning.

                                           Late at night, though, the
                                           whole house creaks and
                                           shifts, like a ship struggling
                                           against the current carrying us
                                           over the edge of it all.





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