1050. THROUGHOUT THIS LIFE

THROUGHOUT THIS LIFE
Taking accolades is only half the battle -
candlelight, harbor and stove. Bowing
to lanterns and skeleton heads takes
more exertion than our world allows.
One would think, like the witches:
'Toil, toil, witches' broil on old
Nantucket's oily soil.'
-
But, no; I've never seen more sunlight
than this. Watching the waves drawing out
from the land after they've pounded the surf
makes me quiet and keeps me still. A
waterway's own surge, a meaning
all its own.
-
I've learned to breathe in this time machine :
so now let me take you with me. Let me
take you home. At least let me take you in.
Brown house. Green house. Shed house.
Shanty with rain on the roof.
Pitter. Patter. What's the matter?
-
(Throughout this life I've heard a
million things, from every corner
of every mouth. The snide, the
supple, the happy, the sad. Yet
now, an absolute nothing does
cover the land. We are bowing
to lanterns and skeleton heads,
even though it's more exertion
than our world allows. Taking
accolades is only half the battle).