At the end of
the day
what do we leave
behind
a blank page or
canvas
so many
possibilities
-
NovPoWriMo 27
No one knows the moment
the present passes
reluctantly into history
how friends from a previous
lifetime knock on the door
to compare trajectories
the sound of time not
a dull left handed thud but
the right flowing in melody
pieces of a hat pointing to forever
-
NovPoWriMo 26
Now you’re on your own
only me beside you but
still you’re not alone
truly, no one is alone
-
NovPoWriMo 25
Looking through old photos
in the envelopes
with the negatives
on a plastic cartridge
one must have used on a carousel
purchased separately
(we never did)
you see yourself
looking at you in the future
which is right now
and play the time game
as dinner approaches
and the box gets put away
the photos you were looking at
were taken when your parents
are the age you are now
and sometime from now there will be
photos in another box of
someone who has not yet arrived
which is right now
somewhere they will see themselves
and recognize the smile
-
NovPoWriMo 23
Glad there’s a photo
of us standing and singing
everyone facing
the same direction
outside there is still some light
we walk into it
with grace gratefully
-
NovPoWriMo 22
The Christmas cicada
stands sentinel in
the still green grass
illuminated by memory
of its billion relations
succumbing to summer’s
blinding white noise
heat of seventeen years
subterranean gestation
in the bleak silent night
red eyes loom distant
crunch of fallen leaves
a proper bed underneath
meanwhile a child
running behind us
seeking to see all the lights
might overtake us in fact
suddenly I hope so
-
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
-
NovPoWriMo 20
Another night of
nondescript dreams
follows me through
the day as if every
unplanned moment
were half a déjà vu
away in disguise
maybe I didn’t sleep
so good maybe I
slept too well maybe
my body doesn’t like
to be interrupted
by consciousness
what is the world
other than adrift
in a sea of thoughts
it tries to recollect
unsuccessfully
the next day
Joshua Keiter 