at the edge

we ricochet back and forth

in Our Town

the protagonist, Emily, dies,

and, after death, is shocked

as she realizes that everyday life can stupefy us,

we ricochet back and forth

as we deal with the moment, the other,

we live at the edge of where we bounce off each other,

it’s all like a pendulum before our eyes

that hypnotizes us to not quite notice

how evanescent the moment can be,

a taste of sugar that moves fast through us,

and we forget we had it,

Emily tries to go back, and appreciate the moment,

but it doesn’t work,

she is devastated by the tragedy of how easily

we all live the surface,

and how easily we forget the depths,

after my father’s untimely death,

I have worked hard to notice the depths,

to see the chasm into which we will fall,

the timing is all that eludes us,

I sorrow easily, feeling the nearness of the chasm,

while I also feel the joy

that can easily envelope me,

as I thrill in the glory that can live at the edge,

that thrills me almost as much as it scares me,

waking up to the levels within which we live our days

is worth the sorrow that tugs at the soul,

in the night I wake to the wrench of a reality

I can deny in the joy of my waking moments,

I work hard to hold all the truths that buffet me.

by Henry H. Walker

September 8, ‘17