they will not
have prepared
for its arrival
or the aftermath
no lines of
succession
no contingency
plans drawn up
they will have
heard the heralds
seen the signs
known it was coming
the mob assembled
at the jail on horseback
gathered at the garden gate
with torches & swords
this lapse, denial
is not the delusion
of those who believe
themselves great
it has been
with them always
there about them
a shadow lengthening
their choice not
to name dusk dusk
is not a hope
against the night
it’s the knowledge
that still there is light
& while there is light
there is work
so they will rise
& go to the tent
of worship & see
the gathered praying
& they will rise
& return to their own tent
& die in the arms
of a somone named life
& they will not
have worried themselves
about the aftermath
because life
You lead readers to many varied dwellings in your poems. Leaving “because life” teases me that another poem will answer that “because” or not. It matters either way.
The ‘they’ is us.The passage about the record of power in the books deals with violence, and this is something that we have the capacity for, even if we choose to deflect it into peace. This is about righteousness, our ability to relax and participate in the larger pattern of life, even as we worship being directed by a preserving god. I think. I love the responses others are giving; it feels as though you’ve unleashed a terrible, compelling power. As in the best of poetry and human expression, giving voice to the undefinable is amazing.
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