Evidence

An abandoned tractor stuck in the mud, a shirt tossed on the seat and some crushed grass testify to a great love, nearby among the thick bushes, oleander and reed. There is always more evidence than necessary. I think of what people buy in a store in different combinations. I saw soap, a pack of matches and two apples in one shopping basket, and some other things whose combination I can't decipher. I think about the effort of ..istory to make connections and to remember, and about the loneliness of an ancient clay jar in a glass case in the museum, all lit-up, rescued from forgetting and prevented from death. I think of the basalt stones in the old Roman bridge: they too are evidence for things I don't know.

Round time and square time travel at the same speed, but their sound as they pass is different. And many memorial candles together make a great joyful light.

Copyright World Poetry, Incorporated Sep/Oct 1996
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