Time, you are wise in all ways I am not

Did the round moon over the rooftops
make me giddy with unasked-for joy,

but then did the curved neck
of a wading bird insert

its uncalled for punctuation?
Did a wind from the sea bring

a welcome whiff of salt, and just
as I rounded the corner, did I smell

what it’s like when deep work
is done on the sewers?

Did I come to the counter to pay
with a crisp new bill and leave

with a handful of change in dull
looking copper? Did I take

the sweet cream out of the cooler
and forget it would sour in the heat?

Did I think that the string
of the instrument broke because

it refused to sing for me? When
will I learn it is not in the nature

of things to be one way or another
to our liking? When a pall comes

over the world at sundown, I should not
ask if I will ever be happy again.

 

In response to Via Negativa: Time.

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