Links in a chain

 

 

leap

 

 

First there is nothing, then

a sign there might be something

comes like a sudden flinch

a flash in the night

 

an economic crash

the death of a friend

the bolt of a deer

before even the rifle shot is heard

 

traces are left

not in mud, but

footprints in drying cement

they harden

 

you come to know them

to fear them

you start to think

 

you’ve got an idea

you give it a name

now you’re getting somewhere

you can deal with this

 

to look, to listen

you can even smell the danger

taste it, feel it

 

this named thing

you can deal with this

reality, you can

 

deal with

the anxiety of life

the fear of things

the hoping

these needs

 

something

the wanting

the need to be sure, to be safe

to be anything at all

named

the striving for it

and you like it too

 

that which will have to be done

the preparations

and taking the leap

courage

that awful, fearsome leap

 

is the joy of life itself

the freshness

the song of a bird

the breeze on your skin

you are coming into your own

 

settled, sure, and even relaxed

maybe for the first time

in the cool shade of a good tree

spreading

just enough

 

before the slanting sun

the chill of night

and again

the sweet dreams of nothing

return

to nothing

 

 


David is a retired CEGEP math teacher who enjoys a good cup of coffee as well as reading, travel, painting and poetry. He was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1945, but has called Montreal his home since 1970. He has previously published one poem in sunday@6mag.