a moment of silence, or, a poem for Lisa Noel

a moment of silence is more
than just a moment of peace
it's a moment of connection
between life and infinity
for as much and as long as we talk
silence will continue long after and long before
so it's moments of silence which
transport us into the past and the future
a present moment of connection running
amidst generations into
perpetuity

This Is Not A Suicide Note

I would much rather have been
a figment of some child's imagination
on a kindergarten playground
than a living, breathing person.

Life would have been so much
more worth living.

Or maybe I am,
In which case,
I prefer the other.

The Circle of Life

There's a moment
in the movie theatre
You're both sitting there
your hands slowly
creeping to each other
Your eyes shift down
looking and waiting
Until finally one hand
reaches up and grabs the other
You both let out a sigh
A smile on your face

There's a moment
before the question
You listen about their feelings
their knees slowly
giving into gravity
Your eyes shift down
looking and waiting
Until finally a question
reaches your ears
You let out a sigh
unable to speak
Your head nodding

There's a moment
under the altar
You stare into each other's eyes
smiling as you do
There is no notice of
anyone around
Until finally the statement is made
celebration erupts
You share a kiss
officially

There's a moment
before the document is signed
You sit in separate rooms
your hands holding fists
Your eyes shift down
looking at the litigation
Until finally the lawyer
reaches a settlement
You let out a sigh
jaws clenched
wondering what now

There's a moment
when you're alone
Illness has befallen you
There is no hand to hold
no eyes to gain reassurance
Instead you sit
remembering
Until finally you no longer
remain
You arrive at your only consolation
You let out a breath
no smile to be found

Special Time of Night

There’s a special time of night.
When the stars congregate.
They come together for the ritualistic
consecration of the night sky.
In that time, you can see everything.
You can see infinity.
You can see beyond.
Everything in those short few moments
is expressed by an entranced glance into the night sky.

Then, the stars disperse to their respective galaxies.
Their own universes and worlds.
But those of us lucky enough to see that moment are forever changed.
We realize that there is always something more
that we cannot see.
We find the greatness and vastness within ourselves.
Our own stars come together for a brief moment
and we search for all of them to return again.

Traveler's Lament

There’s nothing that I really want

As I sit on this bench, awaiting the dawn.

The cold air welcomes my heart

Into a place I’ve easily loved

Yet so longingly dreaded

I have traveled many lively paths

Each one creasing my forehead a little deeper.

I have jumped upon rocks for entertainment,

Each one making my knees a little knobbier.

The gyms I have jungled

Leave my hands a little more weathered,

And my eyes a bit glazed.

My mouth still hangs slightly open

From the plants that have wet my lips.

When he came, wearing that grave suit I had been looking for,

And found me on the doorstep.

He asked me, “If you could travel in time –

Where would you want to go?”

“I travel all the time.

And as far as anywhere to go,

There’s nothing that I really want.”

The Homebody Dreams of Home

She lumbers in the parking lot

Gazing at the space

Entranced by the stars

Engulfed by the vastness

Wondering if she’ll ever get the chance

To be with her beloved

Amidst the Milky Way

He blue skirt and floral blouse

Looking less disheveled than usual

As she staggers back to take in the emptiness

The black velvet wish she’s painted for herself

She remembers her first kiss

Among the heavens

It was thirty years ago,

Yet the vividity of the abduction

Still pulses her imagination

With excitement

Her first and only love

Not even human.

She became enrapt

With light

Being drawn toward the curiosity,

The prospect.

Like a puppy to a lake.

Not sure if they’ll drown,

Only knowing that exploration

Is mandatory.

She remembers, through a haze – a Ketamine-like blur

The view of herself

Above her.

The mysterious charts and graphs

Marking the major parts

Of the terrestrial, extra carefully.

The stars, perfectly dazzling

Formed sequences of once familiar shapes

Orion’s sword, she thought she saw

The Gemini twins, now wielded by her abductor,

Slices her clothes off.

Her eyes full of nothing but wonder

At her lucky circumstance.

The alien does not like this.

She see lights, once again, in the distance;

Though, the colors seem different.

She’s escorted to a car,

Where the men in suits

Tell her she’s diluted,

She’s fantasized this event.

All the while transfixed

On the empty space

Of her future home.

Shehecheyanu

We shuffled into the room,
Mimicking our guides in our head;
As if they couldn't read our faces;
Blindly echoing the disheartened cries
Of our predecessors
Until, at last, we saw the light
Emblazoned with wrath for no crime at all.

We instructed our children to hide
Like turtles forced to become hermits
But, they too were moths being escorted
Into the furnace - that pit of no return.
In this, the dawn and dusk of their time,
Always playing hide and seek,
Never to be found again.

We see the trench - that treacherous wasteland
To which we will unwillingly be united.
We squirm, we screech; a shriek, a screech of shrill voices
We have never since meant as we do now
"Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam
Shehecheyanu!"