Poetry
You build your drama
By the blinking of the eyes
A snapshot surprise
Memory layered sandwich or a stack of heavy bricks
Elixir of the transfixed time
That you remembered and cherished
And missed.
You challenged yourself to have the right entries
Pieces laboured in your century soundscapes
The places you stood in the sun
As far back as you can remember
To where you sang carefree
Where you belonged and began.
The seasons that were sung and you spin this fine gold illuminated thread
The days you left your unmade bed
And celebrated the mansion of your heart
The tears of the departed in a tall glass
The past a reckless hourglass.
Each task was the tugging of the soul
The spirit unfolds like a child’s kites wing span
As an adult you have a haphazard plan
Span the horizon and walk the thickets and narrows
Falter under cupids arrow
Nurture the suffering sparrow.
The tenure of your manifesto
Wearing a t-shirt that says super quest O
It’s worn so much it has holes near holes
In the pit of your soul
If you could only harbour what you
Truly know and navigate
The mortal blows.
As you drop your anchor
And build a home without fear and
Hold those close so you are not alone
A trombone player on floor
34
One block away you’ve memorized the
Music they play.
The garments you wear often look like the blankets of suns
Despair is a duvet heavy and wet
The thread count is regret
As we age we forget
The magic in the mirror of the mirror
Of the eyes we are supposed to
Hold closer than the infinite
Sky.
Put the atmosphere of your minutes
Into moments and sentences into
Song and belong to something you’ve
Designed outside the heady pains
Rearranged the orchestra and placed
The cellists on the escalators
Rising string symphony
Kissed mystery in the violin on the balcony
Falcon of your caress
Is the piece that is played
On the piano in the garden
The butterflies graze your lashes
In a flash of symbols
The irregularities in the stones that just don’t
Fit below your feet
Don’t be the rapture of defeat.
You said this would last only 3 minutes and 23 seconds
This returning to the flame in your mind
It flickers and and it burns so so slowly
The reminiscences away
In this effervescent moment you realized
This exact second you feel it
Is when you played it purely
Pearl rolls down a bannister
Into the sea change.
Francis A Willey
March 10th 2023