First it reminded us: with it we shall not reckon.
Then it made us think everything would be OK.
Then it made us feel impossibly awesome.
Then we were 100% sure that what turned out to be the floor of our taxi was the roof.
Then the great hordes found a way to jive, if only for a few seconds.
We thought for a moment about a herd of moose in response to a cavalry.
Then it told us good night.
Just when we had nearly forgotten
what we were looking for of course
was when we found it; we found it
in the pits of our knees and elbows;
it was in the misshapen snarl of our noses
as we sniffed for it.
Now that we have it, we can begin
to wonder what we will do with it;
like youth we will probably waste it;
like instinct or passion or fear
we may feel we have not used it
but have been used by it.
In our high & low search for it
came the most tangible benefits of it:
the stretching of our bones;
the tug of gravity on our bellies.
What to do when
the marquis is full
of names you have forgotten
or never even remembered?
When the sunlight
of celebrity has you squinting,
thank your dentist --
he has taught you
so many things.
But is there a gift
or a retort finer
than a smile?
Confident uncertainty
so slowly became confusion;
I don't think we noticed
even while we lengthily
and even eloquently mentioned
it in our poems and songs.
Now our pride is all we have
to keep us going, our finely-tuned
interests in ourselves and each other.
The starlight shines most brightly
inside the club; out underneath
the bridge, the night keeps getting darker.
