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.