Tuesday, October 31, 2006

An Inch of Time

Time. How inadequate we define it.
Every definition of time
has the word time in it.
Why not define it in meters, inches,
or miles of moonlight.

Why not define it by the amount
of faces swallowed by history,
or by the count of hearts we’ve broken.
Why mention time when defining time.

Take the hourglass,
sand falls a certain distance.
Time can be defined in grains of sand
multiplied by drop height.

Take watches and clocks.
Each hand travels a given circumference,
same round distance, repeatedly.
Time can be defined in laps per hand.

The Big Bang, the beginning of time,
is nothing but a pod of stars in a single chrysalis,
chrome butterflies released to infinity.
Soft petals of light flowing
through the fabric of god’s blood, which is endless.

Destiny, the purpose of time,
is a dark haired Cuban woman
and she lies on my bed like a gift of vision,
a collection of strings and chimes
through smoking pyres of incense.

Our lips are an inch apart.
Where are you now
old withered hours.


D.Q. 10/31/06

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Diego - send me this one for OCHO and the other one you posted before this one and anything else you write this month send it along. YOu are one of the 8 for the last issue.

d.

Pris said...

Wonderful poem, Diego!

Pris said...

PS forgot...next to last stanza..lays should be lies. Lays takes an object in the present tense, ie she lays her head down and sighs..

grammar cop:-)

CSOC said...

thanks Pris- good catch!