26 Lines for December 14th
written on the morning of the 15th.
written on the morning of the 15th.
The day after, I make coffee.
I go online and check the news ---
look for harmony to fight the blues of December.
On the 15th, I remember.
The day after, I turn on lights.
I watch them glimmer as electric angels –
see them hang as seasonal hymnals, as if memories
of the 14th, 26 symphonies, we can never forget.
The day after, I listen for life.
I hear floorboards above where a 19-year old child tosses
and turns upstairs ---
know he has safety from his childhood fears and finally rests
with peace,
where he’ll awake on the 16th in his bed of flannel and fleece.
The day after, I re-read what I wrote.
I check yesterday for what I once had to say---
peruse my memories in a display of knotted thoughts,
& reflect on what I ought to think and do next.
The day before, I collected a semester’s work.
I grade because it’s the role of the academic jerk in this universe ---
who lives as he does to rehearse within the
meaninglessness,
only to realize, ritually, what a mess we humans make.
The day after, I write this poem.
& let myself roam through its history and our time ---
when life taken before its prime is part of the complexity,
and we all seek better answers, more simplicity.
That Tomorrow,
we have another day.
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