To Make My Peace With You: A Moment Ago

A Moment Ago

On the day you were born
A day was a lifetime for you
When you were five years old
Five years was a lifetime for you

When you’re a teen
Checking the scene
The moments, they go by so slowly
When you are old
At the edge of your life
Moments slip by at the speed of light

And you go
So it goes
Body feels like the husk of a ghost
Then you go
And you know
Poetry is a moment ago
Poetry is a moment ago
Poetry is a moment ago

When you were first kissed
A kiss was a lifetime for you
But when you last kissed
The ritual was flavorless and removed

The mantle grows cluttered
What’s a cup without drink?
Is it that you’re so tired or perhaps a headache?
There’s glass dust in the sugar
The feathers have been bronzed
And all that there’s to say is “this just happens”

And you go
So it goes
Body feels like the husk of a ghost
Then you go
And you know
Poetry is a moment ago
Poetry is a moment ago
Poetry is a moment ago

Oh the temptation to let it all slip by
While daydreaming of what has already died
To learn nothing
From the beauty of “goodbye”
To greet nothing
As tomorrow passes by

When you were thirteen
Realities clung viscous to blades of grass
When you were thirty-three
Spilt your coffee but you can’t let the deadline pass

We listened to coal cars
We watched honeybees
As they fucked the dandelions on the corner of each street
Espresso was sacrament
Buddha was Lou Reed
Wong Kar-Wai at Vinegar Hill and Brady at Gravity
We were media vampires
The intrinsic and profane
Wishing we were beatniks and trying to be insane
We all fell for bass players
We read gamer magazines
And each time, fewer come back for the anniversaries

And you go
So it goes
Body feels like the husk of a ghost
Then you go
And you know
Poetry is a moment ago
Poetry is a moment ago
Poetry is a moment ago




September 5, 2007 (revised September 9, 2007)