A thought or two thousand swirl into the vortex
images from yesterday return to view unexpectedly
and I laugh as the train derails into itself
suspended between years and minutes
as a song plays somewhere within the walls
and I move about the lines of linen
observing the instance of a bird who decorates
with bathroom love on the clean sheets
I laugh and shake my head
silly universe I think I said
aloud to the cloud who lingered
curtailing the sun and its warmth
I shook it out.
James sings with his baby face and the cat who is no longer stares
and I feel the sadness for a moment at the passing
yet know I too someday shall pass that way,
and its okay as my mind carries on
its endless parade of images and songs
I sing along for a moment and change the channel
to lighter fare
wondering why I had gone there
and summer days when twelve
as the islands filled the evening with the scent
of campfires and a marriage at twelve
to the boy down the path,
wondering where he is now
and Jack and Diane had played
and life was easy and carefree
and time was just something we knew
as something to note,
to come in to sleep and eat
the rest up to us to pursue
in endless games and swimming with snakes
that slipped in cracks in the rocks.
Perhaps it was the laundry, as I traipsed about
toes uncovered I always watch for moving things
and the wind that blew the sheet into my face
where I saw the smudged gift
that took me back in the mind machine of time
for a small fee of a smile
and a tune in my head
that won’t quite stop.
Peace, Love and Patchouli 