Poem: Hurry Up and Wait

We’re told by those who know such things

that commencement came explosively,

instantaneously and corrosively.

Gas spewed, dust swirled, and — voila — light brings

Life to a dark and icy place,

where microscopic cells could not stay together,

splitting and dividing no matter whether

they were designed by God and touched by grace.

This was a long time ago —

or not so long, depending on what you believe,

that is, if you’re Darwinian or beguiled by Adam and Eve.

Millenniums or days, time began to flow

and somehow, despite our worst intentions

we arrived here at this momentary spot

utterly unsure of what it is we’ve got,

except our mortgages and pensions,

those hallmarks that remind us we’re alive —

that and weddings and graduations —

ceremonies that touch Chileans and Haitians

as much as Finns who strive

to make sense of why we’re here.

Why we hurry so to get to the end

instead of ruminating with a friend

on days gone by and conquered fear.

All of us waiting, countenancing the denouement

of what we have and what we want.