the history student in me

to hold a moment

I love to write a poem,

to coalesce into words

an insight, a perspective,

a movement forward into understanding,

a way to say:

I’ve been there,

I’ve done that,

I know, and you can know, too,

through my words,

an experience within can still be similarly powerful,

though so very ephemeral, fleeting,

a hike with eyes open into wonder,

a dip into a cold mountain creek, 

intense rejuvenating shock,

a moment noticed and hoped to be remembered,

a picture snapped to hold a moment,

the history student in me

loves to write the words

that hope to hold a moment

and preserve it into the future,

I love to write a poem,

and I love it when the poem works.

by Henry H. Walker

June 25, ’17