This gathering of
Strangers
I put on a mask
Don my armour of
Anonymity
Revealing only the self
I want you to see
A shadow
In the darkness
Of multitudes
A shadow
In the darkness
Of multitudes
Steal moments
From unknown lives
Recorded
For all time
Subjects unaware
But for the occasional eye
Catching me
On my surreptitious perch
At the shutter’s release
Sheepishly
I set the lens aside
And with a nod
Beg forgiveness
For my crime
Spirit moved
By the artistry
By the grandeur
By the grace
I know there are saints
Not like these saints
I know there are angels
Not like these angels
I know there is god
Not like this god
I know there is heaven
Not like this heaven
Spirit moved
By these metaphors
Manifest
In the people
I have known
In the places
I have been
In the light
I have seen
In the grace
I have experienced
In the beauty
I have created
I connect
Not with being
But a fetish
This realm
Of virtual
Manifestation
And while I look
And while I connect
I am lost
To the moment
To my own presence
To being itself
While all around
Existence dances and plays
Without my participation
Illumined texture
Shadowed depth
Through synthesis, form
So am I expressed
Unconfined
By black or white
No, I: all the subtle tones
Of possibility
The regular stop
In the deep of the night
Homeward bound
Warmed inside
And I can’t say
where it began
or where it ends
or if it ever will
It drives you to
the edge of mad
(where you found me)
but with your ever
growing faith
it’s clear
Life is not so
rational
as you would like
Discontinuous
In fact
Time sometimes goes
from front to back
while space folds in
upon itself
and plops you down
in the middle of
you know not
what
Yet still you stand
amidst the fray
(such dark embrace)
to write these words
you promised me
Love is not so
rational
as you would like
But its beauty
drives you still
Now what is near
Seems quite clear
But far from here
Is more obscure
Detail lost
Colour sallowed
Though sun breaks through
Its presence mellowed
Yet, still