So That We Wouldn’t Fall Away

The poet delivers to us our kindred
From today,
From yesterday,
And those who’ve been washed upon the shore
As memory has been held captive in our every cell
Who would otherwise resemble
The perfection of a diamond
But for a fall,
For a price,
For a lie told and
Another believed
Instead, kills its benefactor
At a predetermined age
When all is silenced
That is no longer tolerable
In the Campo Dei Fiori
Where petals fall on forgotten ashes
In the temple made marketplace
Where stripes tear and bear down
Onto Truth’s indestructible armor
And though flowers, and fashion
And dainty pastries may fill
The mopped up streets
And sterilized chambers
There are rooms within our minds
Chaulk full
Of shoes and luggage
Left waiting for their kin
To be claimed and set sail for
Kindlier shores.
And if the absent kin could speak to us
A final protest they might say:
“Please remove my shoes and hints of me
That linger in this place,
And when you do, you’ll hear my voice
You’ll see my numbered face
Have left an immovable vestige
Upon your soul
That lie, nor human tongue
Nor hand, for fear remove,
Nor ever can be erased.”

 

gjh.