THE LONG WALK

David was dying, this the sky lizard said. Tonight the long walk would begin, and the ancestors would be there to greet him. But for now, he was content to talk to the sun, to wait for the moon, and to hold the earth in his hands. This was the now. This was the moment. However short, however insignificant, it was all that David was.

was

who were you
at the edge of the photo
the one always caught in time
the one we always ignored
who were you
holding in your secrets
hiding all those scars
among all the smiling children
you were the one
we remember least
a pressed flower
in the book of our lives
and then
one day
this photograph uncovered
this glimpse back in time
to a moment
we shared together

even though

I do not remember your name

'

he found himself reading the classifieds
looking for an apartment
something efficient and trouble-free
with access to the heart of things
and parking
preferably a garage
he found himself looking at the moon
wondering how
his old friend was doing
up there
so high above the heads of some
six or seven billion humans
half of which
were starving
He was pondering
why the confluence of events
had deposited him like some piece of debris
on this particular shoal
at this specific moment
if
he could just hold on
to that precious thing
that sense of being
the moment
of complete self actualization
if
then
and perhaps then
he would not feel the need
to keep scanning the papers
reading between the lines
looking
for something
other than what was
These are times
that try men's souls
or so it goes
one more day
on the march to oblivion
one more moment
in the
"grand scheme of things"
looking back
he could see the moon once again
high up there in the sky
night after night
visible and not
reassuring and haunting
reminding him that tomorrow
would be upon us all
soon enough
that tomorrow
would be
soon enough






.