Apologies for the lack of a new poem yesterday — I spent the day at the doctor’s office getting prepped and approved for cataract surgery on my eyes. Tentative date is April 6, but will likely move up. Will keep you posted.

new poem:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I Shrug It Off

Heraldic noises
in my head — where else
would they be? It is not fitting
to assume the world would herald
for me. I am just one of eight billion
who presume prominence and dawn
isn’t much for me to take as my own
instead of lying down quietly
when I pass.

Where else would they be —
internal, reflective
of the imminent storm
or the quiet of the morning?
I shrug it off.

The banners
of vanished kingdoms, the flags
of imaginary lands — they
aren’t for me; I am one
of eight billion, after all;
in the long turn of morning
into day, into night, what can I do
except love what I can until
I pass, quietly, into the next
and the next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
onward,
T