Golden
The day breaks turning
the sky that bright glass blue
of a perfect summer day alluding to
time to hang wash on a taught cotton rope
to catch the scent of wind within the fibers of woven fabric.
A doubled blinding white bedsheet undulates and snaps in the breeze.
Actions and motions that have been consistently repeated
upon this planet,
at one time or another
point in time, point of longitude and latitude
just a subtle shift
A soft towel to place on naked skin to catch
dripping water after cleansing, readying to dress for bed.
just a subtle shift
Now naked and shorn and waiting to see
if the cleansing will be from water or gas
waiting to see if life is now ending or if
there will be time to dream
as heart tissue pounds life support
beneath a layer of skin that longs
for the gentle touch of sunlight free
from barbed shadows to bathe in.
just a subtle shift
Images of individuals cling to our collective conscious
cyclically refreshed when they begin to soften
by the belief that the thread has been broken that knits
the patriotic into the ethnocentric.
Actions and motions that have been consistently repeated
upon this planet,
at one time or another
point in time, point of longitude and latitude
just a subtle shift
We all have been slaves, conquerors, killers, saviors,
mystics, midwives, artists and logicians.
It seems apparent that we are woven more
from common material than foreign.
just a subtle shift
Allows the luxury to stand tailor made
in the emperor’s new clothes of civility
and view the sterilized landscape of time covered
under letters that represent names, numbers that represent
dates and statistics and the points of longitude and latitude
that veil the humanity to be found in
faces in smile, voices in laughter, and the scent
of breath laced with garlic and spices mingled
with fermented hops or grapes from the drink
that accompanies food as nourishment for body and soul.
just a subtle shift
To be born in the wrong place
at the wrong time, leaving a legacy as
a plea to be remembered and not let it happen again
upon this planet,
at one time or another
point in time, point of longitude and latitude
Perhaps we will learn from our mistakes
instead of cleansing the stains from our woven heritage
and hanging history out on the line to dry.
just a subtle shift
do unto others as you would have done unto you