One more day,
\nand a day,
\nand a day,
\nand the years pile up.
\nSawdust, vapor, countless conversations,
\nand the ropes
\neach twined in a knot.
\nWhy?<\/p>\n
On what birthday did I question
\nthe lengthening of a life,
\nits excelsior,
\nthe thing in a box,
\nrummaging for my answer.
\nAnd reasons for my why,
\nboyish wonder,
\nan old man\u2019s loss,
\nthe pictures,
\nthe dots joined in endless epiphanies.
\nWhy a young girl\u2019s mouth,
\nwhy an endless argument.
\nFaith in the unpredictable,
\nthe sacred
\nknown before I ever knew a church.
\nThe visitation to a man assuaging doubt.
\nWhy you say,
\nthe silt flowing from a distant source
\ninto the delta of a life.<\/p>\n
I am old,
\nbut I was old before I was young,
\nI knew loss before first love
\ncarried me away.
\nA day within a day,
\nmy luggage,
\ncountless memories,
\ngifts, playthings.
\nShould I say,
\nI\u2019m here with everything I\u2019ve gathered,
\nstones that burn brighter than a fire,
\na ball worn out from throwing?
\nPapers torn from all my books,
\npictures holding faces
\nI love beyond all measure.<\/p>\n
Here I am,
\nhungry at the end,
\nwanting more,
\nuntil all my doubt
\nis washed away,
\nall the sticks
\nare piled neatly on the grass,
\nall the flowers
\nblooming turgid
\nin their vases.
\nMy life,
\nmy wandering,
\ndid it count that passing?
\nThe years were worth
\nwhat came my way?
\nThe years lowing to a light
\ngrowing dimmer,
\nlike a fire falling in the sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One more day, and a day, and a day, and the years pile up. Sawdust, vapor, countless conversations, and the ropes each twined in a…<\/p>\n