Time and Distance
Time is like a sandal in a cave: here I was.
If no heat is exchanged, time does not exist.
The little blue macaw is gone. The distance grows.
What one needs is a helping verb, a word like does.
What one gets instead is a cosmic abyss.
Time is like a sandal in a cave: here I was.
There are planets no telescope will disclose.
Though no one’s sure, our nature is to shift.
The little blue macaw is gone. The distance grows.
There should be more silence, less applause.
We should be more like Neptune grass. It persists.
Time is like a sandal in a cave: here I was.
Horseshoe crabs preceded the dinosaurs.
Each spring they convene for a spawning blitz.
The little blue macaw is gone. The distance grows.
If you come bearing peanuts or a cage, a crow recalls.
For just one day, let me grow a carapace.
Time is like a sandal in a cave: here I was.
The little blue macaw is gone. The distance grows.
Martha Silano’s five books of poetry include Gravity Assist and Reckless Lovely, both from Saturnalia Books. She is co-author of The Daily Poet: Day-by-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice. Martha’s poems are forthcoming in Alaska Quarterly Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She teaches at Bellevue College and Seattle’s Hugo House.
