To ease the pain of living.
Everything else, drunken dumbshow.
- Allen Ginsberg (“Memory Gardens”)
Chill in the dark,
the day before forever—
before eternity slips
into twinkling space.
Alone with ourselves,
we have no secrets left
to bury, only seeds to sow
for summer fruit.
Two owls are talking
across the yard:
emphatic hoots,
promises of spring.
Dogs bark at the scent
of coyotes near—
neither know, neither care
about tomorrow.
It is our moment
to find diversions
in search of awe,
the small and the majestic—
to do the work
to ease the pain of living.
All the rest
drunken dumbshow.
