Why Can’t I Remember?

I’ve seen some pretty neat things

Photo by Jonathan Bean on Unsplash

I’ve seen some pretty neat things.
How volcanic ash can drift
to settle on the worn deck
of a dry-docked ship. I watched

the head of my child plunge
into being, aurora
lights furl the great northern black.
The quiet of a hill, too,

the fury of a green wave
on a black sand beach of glass.
I’ve soared above the wet rocks,
the green barracuda’s eye,

the gray cucumber that spits
its guts to get far away.
The lovely sound of my knees
in a bend to chop fresh wood

for an apple fire.
The deep desire to wear
a sweater on a windy beach.
To have been all those places

and barely remember,
little shadows playing in
the candles, unreadable
when you squint, so far away.

© Trapper Markelz 2021

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This is the journey