Space Travel

I find myself trading my imagination for a
shorter attention span;
but I only worry about it
a few seconds at a time.

Thoughts of
violence begetting violence
buzz
around my head and the only defense
I have is
memories of good times past
memories of good times to come...

Like climbing over the rocks and onto
the beach of Jekyll Island half a lifetime ago.
Transfixed by
more stars than I had ever dreamed possible.
And the shrimp-boats trawling along past the breakers,
lazily racing dawn back to the shore, with lights set high on the masts,
lights bouncing up and down on the water.
Then all the stars of heaven and earth surrounded me.
Though my feet never left the sand my soul was sent
soaring
spinning into the cosmos...almost.

Like when you look at me.
I see what I can be, where I can be.
And on the heels of that thought:
What we can be, where we can be.
We can stand on the shores of midnight
watching the stars of earth and heaven
waiting for tomorrow
when the sun scatters the stars
with blue sky and covers them with clouds of white.

8.4.1996

Note about lineation: This poem is best read centered on the page.