The Occupation

I’ll tell you how it was the world
changed, she said — the darkness
wrapped us around.

I heard her clearly, though I barely
heard the words. It was nearly — yes —
as if she was singing.

Our job, she was saying, was not
to change the world — nor even
to keep it from changing.

No, she was saying (the story
was over already): our only
job is being changed.

 

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Selected Poems : Robert Bringhurst

Charged

How emotions get the better hold of us, I’ve always thought
I’d see it coming but it catches me by surprise
at every turn, I begin to think it can’t be possible and yet still
you persist in my thoughts. “I’ve got to stop now,” I say
so, until time brings you closer again.

Too Soon

“I believe in love. Even if you say
so otherwise.” You’re a skeptic though and I know.
“People simply give up too soon
to figure it out.” The whole basic algorithm we’ve been
asking for is a simple equation after all.
You keep persisting.

Remember

Letting go of your hand, I felt fear
In case you would forget me, long after I
Had already begun to move on.
“Why do you think we want to be
Remembered?” You asked once before.
I stopped making believe
Of our fake dialogues since
I can remember.

A Choice

“Choose wisely,
Would you have your words be
Brave or sincere, since you can’t
Have both so long as
Pride and your desire are in
Play.” I pondered in the split
Second before replying
And realized this has always been
A choice
All along.

Humble

When there’s too much to say at hand,
Laden with intentions left  unsaid,
“We can meet for coffee sometime,” is
A better proposition to say
In lieu of goodbyes,
So that I could only concede,
“Okay.”

Bets

“Would you rather
I take away
The pain
Of memories
Or the pain
Of your denial?
Would it make it better
To forget
Than to care,
For once
Can you stand
The chance you took
And hold
Onto your losses.”

The Words

“I feel I have so much to say, that I
Can’t speak
At all. Is there such a thing as
The right words?”
“Only when you start
Having conversations
Outside of yourself, you’ll find
The words will come
To accept
Us.”

Emotions

She could hear the outcome of this dialogue
All the while she began the summary of her emotional inventory
How in fact she’s been feeling off, yet today without authority
Nothing to justify save for the simple pawn off
Against the pellet of rain who’s deliberately thrown themselves
Into the pool of their lost doppelgängers
Rather that she said, “I’ve been feeling moody today and I
Can’t figure out why.”
“Why figure it out?” The voice asks,
“So that I can assess and come to terms with
The reason why and not feel this way anymore.”
“Why is it not okay for you to feel low,” her own conscience now speaks
Separately, seeking her to consider, “what if the disturbance is to be okay
With this emotional baggage instead?