A NATION'S WELCOME
It "is like a perhaps"
e.e. cummings phrase
ripe with meaning, one
just stands below
the branch waiting
for nectar swollen fruit
to drop down
so we can
drown
in its juice.
I watched John Glenn fly
with Godspeed on the back of
his chariot of fire, I thought
how easy the moment, how
rich its pulp, how sweet
the fallen wisdom of a nation
dry on words, hungry
for an American feast.
It "is like a perhaps", family
around table at Thanksgiving.
FOREVER
Echoes of visions past
haunt present thoughts
as the layers fall away
revealing the treasures
found in open embrace.
Eternity cradles the moment
in wide, hungry hands.
Our days slip through
its grasp
greedily trying to cheat
its call
as though time was real
and space was something
we could reach the end of.
Our bodies become as mangers
for the gentle spirit
shared with each touch
and fall comfortably
into those cupped hands.
JACKSON - 1998