as if the magnetic field is gone

 

we spin

a life can suddenly end,

all the systems caught up in a cascade of glitches,

and a vibrant spirit no longer can assert itself

through the eyes, through the words, through the actions,

all of us who are left to still look out our own eyes

can no longer see the person who is gone

concretely in the world before us,

but we can feel her absence

as if a glue that held all together dissolves,

and there is no center to hold us

in the way we’re used to,

death is a lonely god,

and we can feel as if lost,

the magnetic field gone 

that helps us find direction,

so we spin.

by Henry H. Walker

July 31, ‘22