for Thomas F. Coman Sr.
Just one
Of a kindness
Unseen
These days
A mensch among men
Placid amid the storm
Sheltering steadiness
Rising above it all
Anonymous not clamorous
Good and faithful servant
Well done
Done well
Light perpetual
Shine in silence
So be it
Be it so
Ever and anon
Shore-ward sailing
remember that yardstick?
(more like two of them)
a metric that mattered
(so we were told)
social distancing
defining where
one aura began
another ended
(I should have said era)
up there
aboveground
not that 6 feet
for god's sake
and then today
or was it yesterday
(time has become so timeless)
as I walked by the school
elementary, so primary
colors, I saw those chalk outlines
body shapes
pastel designs
I am sorry to report
that reminded me
of a TV crime scene
(a not-very-parenthetical aside
I am told)
all kidding aside
I wish I didn't go there
don't you
I wish we all did not
go there or anywhere
like that
on a field of blue and yellow
sky and gold
on plains of wheat
and cities of old
an ancient rain falling
fresh as blood
and raw as meat
a lone baby crying
an aria forgotten
and a mercy unsuckled
a prayer still screaming
how foolish we thought
we felt so retro
that war was
just
a thing
an ancient artifact
a boomer anecdote
a cold memory
a hot flash
war so old-fashioned
framed out of history
texts and rubble
sepia photos
black and white
either or
infants' limbs
family shrapnel
silent shards
blood so loud
we thought
that was all over
war and peace
a novel idea
it was just beginning
the recurring nightmare
an endless loop
a rosary of mercy
we need
and want
a garland of roses
we pray
beseech
beckon
we beg for
peace
now
in our time
this now
this time
cancel culture
as in what
culture
such as it is
or was
or will be
world without end
canceled check
balance overdue
canceled cells
cancered sells
checks in the mail
chain mail
ancient artifacts
like paper
and facts
themselves
cc: blind copies
can-can culture
no can do
yes we can
bel canto
incantatory
stories
ad infinitum
they said it was the shortest day not a D-Day but a December diurnal one a solstice they said something about the sun earth nexus something about the failing light flailing to find itself on the upswing stretching out the light the definition of day and now I am flailing to see that in my February-drenched rearview mirror the one with the solstice memory the one with the solstice promise winking at me the driver me the one masquerading as something someone whose name escapes me
nice not the first thought
nicene being
its adjective twin
yet nicene enough
insense and all
maker of all things
of all that is
seen and unseen
(that infinite comma up there)
think about it
all that is
both seen and unseen
shrouded by skin
shaped by veins
eternally begotten
not made
faith more than creed
creed more than doubt
a twig
to stand on
seen not seen
felt not felt
in time
forever
