to the man who touched the sky

5.1.24

revised 8.13.24

who could know that eternity equals

a series of sequels

or that our hands could humble gravity

cover a cavity

piecing together plastic to set heights

under and up unites

a joint endeavor to animate life

brings fullness and quells strife

this white skeleton now swivels and sways

some creation worth praise

the shadow structure of the organic

echoes the botanic

how long will spasmodic movement persist?

til fingers become mist / til bones and dust have kissed

or til change yields and we relinquish time

still us, mover who’s prime

2.6.24

revised 7.13.24

had i known time would pass,

we might have lingered there

if we knew fingers stain glass,

would we have accepted glare?

you coaxed out a farewell,

asked me to parrot words

i paused, so silence could dwell,

just as the moon quiets birds

memory rewinds now,

scrambling thoughts of there, then,

just as a paperless vow

renders useless the proud pen

finality comes with

breath’s passage through thin air

like the tune of a clock smith

who ensures seconds are fair

bow here, and mirror the mime

come, clarity and peace

metronome and nighttime

send off the robins and geese