I am not sure how long
our genius can last
with its gift for paradise and agony.
In a twinkling our lives
unfold with pauses and hesitations.
From the night’s airplane
I saw a carpeting of light
on the surface of the planet.
The jewels of Ali Baba,
brooches of sapphire, gold,
strings of pearl,
and I trembled.
Is this the ephemeral sigh of our souls
that sleep in the cosmic dust?
Are we the knife blade
of life’s extinction?
The confusion of the world
opening its eyes,
struggling under an unbearable weight
of love and caring.
To endure like a butterfly
born above a hurricane?
The book The House of the World has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and is now available on Amazon.