“clarity in the sense of silence”
—George Oppen
I know him as I knew him then
as I knew myself as I know now
we are at once all our ages
a revisioning of our visions
distance allowing no clarity
only layers and layers of veils
each claims with equal certitude
to be the last to fall to ground
but the eyes are hungry to savor
the one taste to define the dish
the one traumatic or benign event
to become the archway’s keystone
beneath which I can finally pass
and see myself preserved in silence
(November 18, 2024)
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