what did you know
about anything back when
you started this

when you spoke so cleanly of trees
weeping willows or magnolias
what did you know

of any of this
do you know more now
about hummingbirds or hawks

than you used to
what do you know
of sex and love or love pining alone

or sex by yourself in full rut
what do you know
of passing by someone

on a random street
and crying out that you know them
what do you really know

about schubert or albert ayler
king crimson or blind willie johnson
why do tears come up upon hearing them

what do you know
about anything
worth pursuing

what do you know
that is true or real or even
vividly imagined so closely

to what is real than you
can’t define a difference
that makes sense

what do you know
about how other people feel
or understand anything

is there a voice in their heads
that tells them how to deal
and comprehend and take it in

how do they feel
about what they know
how would you feel

feeling those things
knowing those things
what do you know

that isn’t second hand
isn’t passed down from ancestors
isn’t from a cloth bound book

what do you know
that is fresh
from inside you

that is damnably clear
or adorably obscure
what do you know of any of it

you won’t truly know
what any of this means
until you fade to blank and say

oh I see it now
now I see it
now

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