What I Used to Know

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What I Used to Know

I used to think I knew
there was an eternity—
a place without end,
a promise beyond the turning of years.

But those days are gone.
Now I wake to smaller hopes,
to mornings that ask only
that I make it through.

I no longer plan far ahead.
Next month feels like fog,
next year like a myth.

If forever exists,
I wonder what waits there—
who will be gathered,
who left behind,
and whether I will still
recognize myself.

There is so much to fear,
so much cruelty walking the earth.
If eternity is real,
let it not carry
the shadows of this world.

For now,
I keep my faith
no further than the sunrise,
and call it enough.

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For Susan's prompt at What's Going On? -- "Eternal/Unchanging"

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The Time of Covid

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The Time of Covid

The book I tried to read, monotony
washing clothes, an order for pickup
a quick walk with the dog, gray skies
gray mind, new gray corduroy pants
sameness, stillness, frustration

impatience, writing, Netflix
deleting emails, covid cases climb
housebound, mask-bound, boosted
bitter cold, bitter mind, biting my tongue
people dying, democracy dying, loss of faith

the chilling cold, the boredom of the day
sameness of the day, same old same old
sadness, deeper, longer, bleaker
no respite, no escape, no change
the book I failed to read, monotony.

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A Short Addendum

2022 peaceful times
Cocooned in my home
trapped but somewhat safe

Only today mattered
tomorrow was a question
would fear ever end?

2025 when I write this
tomorrow is still a question
will fear ever end?

For my prompt at What's Going On? -- "The Days We Stayed Apart"

The Quiet Watchers

 

The Quiet Watchers

Two small sentinels on the back of a couch,
Their ears like sails, catching every sound—
Eyes glimmering with a gentle question,
As if they know something I don’t.
Sunlight slants across their coats,
Black and white like ink on parchment,
Still and soft, yet so awake. Alive!

Behind them, blossoms fall silently.
Petals paused in their pink descent—
A world in bloom, framed by the glass
As life unfolds just out of reach.
The room hums with a hush
Only the heart can hear.

And now, they are gone.
Their warmth only memory
Their gaze now immortal
In this canvas of stillness.
The artist too has stepped
Beyond the edge of the frame,
Brush laid down, breath stilled,
Leaving me this moment captured.

I stand here now,
Looking at the ones
Who once watched me
with their intense eyes...
And shed a quiet tear.

O brief lives,
O bright sparks,
O joy curled in small bodies—
You remind me:
The couch was your throne,
The day was once infinity,
And life… a quiet, beautiful blink.

So let's love now, live now, 
Sit in the sun while we can.
Watch the world bloom.
And when the moment comes,
That we too must leave, 
Let it come gently,
Like this.

An Ekphrastic poem for Sumana's prompt at "What's Going On?"

(This poem is about the painting of my beloved pets Tulip (my heart dog) and Violet (my first toy fox terrier) done by commission by Tasmanian artist Nyra Aherne. Both the dogs and the artist are deceased. The picture hangs in my living room.)

In the Forest

 

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In the Forest

In the forest, Jane listened—
every leaf, every call a lesson.
She said the world is never empty,
only waiting for eyes to see.
Her life: to save Mother Nature,
and teach us to care,
so no heart grows bored or blind.

For Sherry's prompt at What's Going On?  -- "A Message from Jane Goodall"