PLAINS

It’s quiet this morning, like life has started
but no one’s aware of anything yet.
There is an ocean of time
we can’t see at first, when our eyes
are new to the world. Some would say
we can never really see it, but we
get better at sensing it
as we get older, if we work hard.
I still know virtually nothing
after this much time, though.

It’s quiet mornings like this
that make it easier to remember
the entire life that is behind
everything.

And seeing
old acquaintances—people I once knew—
begs the question:
what is there to be afraid of?

(20 December 2006)