When all paths are blocked don’t be so sure that
the path not taken isn’t blocked as well
maybe regret is a component of
retreat backing away from the silence
of wondering which way is the right way
when there is no way of knowing despite
all evidence just to the contrary
surely letting go of all volition
is a sure recipe for disaster
never knowing what could be the future
stuck in some sad resemblance of the past
spinning infinite threads to the present
following you through bad decisions made
by some version of yourself you can’t save
Tag: Sonnet
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FebPoWriMo 9
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FebPoWriMo 8
On the way to work listened to podcast
about book banning throughout history
on the way home talk of the politics
of misinformation gaining more speed
everything that seems novel has a past
if only we can train our sights to see
the problem is the past is not the past
the present more an accumulation
we cannot dig ourselves out from under
the only way we can look back is through
the ruins we navigate every day
background radiation humming backwards
trying to avoid potholes in the road
they show up every year no matter what
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FebPoWriMo 7
Waiting all night for the show to begin
we have no clue what will disappoint more
the fact that time is wasted or that time
exists as a concept we still aren’t sure
is real as evidenced by what happened
to the rest of this day last I recalled
it was this morning while I was cleaning
the cat boxes the cat sat on the chair
they sit in when it is time for breakfast
and I discouraged that way of thinking
although I could not be sure it was not
time for breakfast what is a morning for
but to relinquish the dreams of nighttime
for day we think we know is not a dream
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FebPoWriMo 6
Planning on medaling in the event
I realize how many Olympics
I have been alive for and remember
and equally the many I forget
by way of not watching them at the time
looking back it is not uncommon for
me to take at least four years for granted
while at the same time the third grade me sits
at the Apple IIe figuring out
that J and K mean left and right while I
and M move up and down the hot dog or
biathlon or bobsled winter games in
8-bit graphics or maybe Canada
three decades ago seems like yesterday
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FebPoWriMo 5
Hard to figure out how much time has passed
since last I wondered how little time goes
in a straight line not even a circuit
could explain the serpentine byways I
represented as myself depicting
every drift as meaningful substances
substrata of earth undiscovered by
digging even deeper than possible
probably the other side will appear
as upside down as frames of reference
tilted slightly askew astride the wall
who knows what time is or the difference
between being born in time and lasting
forever or at least everlasting
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FebPoWriMo 4
A day of errands approaching normal
except for the people who refuse to
somehow still wearing masks in Target is
anathema to participating
in a civilized society why
did some of us decide keeping distance
was a bad idea I for one don’t
mind never sharing space with anyone
ever again no one wants to see that
spittle of the mind dripping without pause
open to the external elements
bad ideas made worse by their speaking
wish there could be an endgame in our sights
if you are still there please turn out the lights
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FebPoWriMo 3
Spent a good portion of the evening shocked
at the passage of time namely how much
has passed within our lifetime unnoticed
it must be that past present and future
all happen at once how else to explain
the ennui of your twenties growing up
to be a teenager at the same age
as you were two thirds of your life ago
writing lyrics in your bedroom without
thinking of life insurance benefits
or where you should situate all the stuff
accumulated in a previous
phase you think might be useful as you try
to pass on what it means to be alive
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DecPoWriMo 31
It will not do
to count our losses
when we have run
out of numbers
better to toast
burnt edges and all
save with grace
a white at the center
penultimate afterglow
how the world begins
background radiation
something to look
against all odds
forward to
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NovPoWriMo 21
Remember feeling
nostalgic for the early
days of the pandemic
when lack of necessities
meant we were staying
closest to those who
needed us when did we
feel it necessary to yearn
for congregating in large
indiscriminate numbers
for imaginary reasons
it seemed the best
we could hope for was
limited casualties
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NovPoWriMo 6
Could not remember
the last time I had to be
at tech rehearsal
or anything else
before nine in the morning
the windows and grass
were covered in frost
as the sun struggled to rise
why bother changing clocks
just keep different hours
hibernate if you can
let the world run itself
into a new ground as if
it knew what it was doing
Joshua Keiter 