It's Still Life

I.
I Know Why the Sky Is Blue . . .

but why do I worry about
things beyond my control.

Things that have me by the neck,
and won’t let you go. Like . . .

I wake up, surprised I’m not
dressed as a pauper.

Or I’m so poor that I burn my
clothes for heat.

Or one day I’ll wake up and
be a blurry image of myself.

Someone once said to me,
“There are worse things than dying.”

        . . . but I don’t know what.

I believe in God, but can I also believe
in reincarnation?

There are moments that slap you –

like your first grade teacher
also has to brush her teeth,

or when she asks you a question,
she already knows the answer.

I hope I don’t come back
            as a dung beetle.

 

II.
Salt-Bleached Noise

When my head
is full of traffic
and sirens,
I take my thoughts
to the sea
with its soft
quieting sounds,
and I sit myself on
a salt-bleached bench
and watch gulls
stirring silence
into the air.

 

Written for (I.) Miz Quickly’s Day 28 “Unanswerable Questions” and (II.) Poetic Asides “Slow Down” prompt, and shared with @Experimentsinfc #APoemADay on Twitter   © Misky 2021