How many of these
stories survive the telling
on the other side
continuity
comes between generations
how far the line goes
depends how it’s told
the shaking from side to side
only amplifies
the signal to noise
-
MarPoWriMo 20
-
MarPoWriMo 19
Across the hall from
the exhibit about
measuring the universe
people stand agape
at the video screen above
replaying the space
shuttle’s last flight
a quick mental calculation
determines how many
of them could even
remember the event
happening in real time
I read the display about
the Challenger disaster
which asks how I felt
if I saw it at the time
while the same video
starts playing again
-
MarPoWriMo 18
Doing normal things
on a normal street
in a normal town
with normal people around
is kind of extraordinary
no matter how long it lasts
-
MarPoWriMo 17
What else could deliver life
but this thin membrane
a matter of centimeters
managing pleasure from pain
skin to skin a bond from age
to age wrapping monuments
in protective plastic sheaths
unexploded shells a few feet
from habitable domiciles
nowhere else to turn but sky
closing all alternatives against
flesh and bone standing firm
a thorn piercing the stiffened side
beasts born with luck a rough ride
-
MarPoWriMo 16
There is never
enough room
to make space
for more room
merely to move
one object from
one place
to another
is insufficient
you must try
to obliterate
all sense of
proportion
new rooms need motion
-
MarPoWriMo 15
Who is to say
the world outside
at our fingertips
will still be here
when you arrive
how much has changed
even when we first
knew your possible
was our reality
probably best kept
amorphous like light
that might break through
your response to us
a hiccup or two
-
MarPoWriMo 14
Remember that
at any moment
the narrative
you are digesting
should be disrupted
with a placard
behind the official
party line saying
don’t believe
the propaganda
they’re lying to you here
stop the war
no to war
they cannot put all of us in jail
-
MarPoWriMo 13
Daylight is only
partially
welcome when
sleep still weighs
down eyelids
afternoon nap
may as well last
eight hours
or more
time is meaningless
and your body
knows it
-
MarPoWriMo 12
What to make
of an empty stage
mere minutes
after we waved
from the wings
to the other side
waiting to see
the light in our eyes
a space to fill
with our absence
until we return
echoing ghosts
make laughter
not only in the past
-
MarPoWriMo 11
What will there be
to give up
in the face of all
resistance
now just a map
with arrows
and scared colors
where borders
used to be certain
a figure
walking in the woods
snow swept
future tense another
word for all
the nuclear scenarios
we thought
it was safe to unlearn
now waiting
for an endgame while
people are left
for dead in the streets
safe unsound
Joshua Keiter 