Thursday, June 03, 2010

Raffi Wartanian: Between You And Me



Between Time and Space
Between You and Me
            There is something
                        That cannot be explored
                        With words
                        Or silences perceived as meaningful
                        Or eyeballs looking deeply into eyeballs
                        Or hugs
                        Or smirks to diffuse a tension born of
                                    Misunderstandings,
                                                Neglect,
                                                            Fear,
                        Or target variables
                                    Identified
                                                As Determinants of Destiny.
            There is something
                        That transcends Time and Space
                        You and Me
                        Planet Earth
                        Milky Way
                        That-planet-whose-name-I-dare-not-mention.
            There is something
                        That weeps and laughs
                        And holds on with
                        Steel strands of hair
                        Against some odds
                                    Perhaps all.
            There is something
                        That shrinks 4 hours
                                    Into 4 seconds
                        And burgeons the central nervous system
                        To stand up against
                                    Chattering teeth –
                                                Goosebumps –
                                                            Thoughts of warmth –
                                                                        Logs popping.
                        That sets appetite
                        Into a four-bar phrase
                        That crescendos
                        With two dotted repeat symbols
                        That crescendos
                        With two dotted repeat symbols
                        Then, again,
                        Satisfaction just a distant wave
                        Appearing and fading
                        In a horizon
                        Where gushing oil
                        Smears a coarse fluid of non-being
                        Against the purplebluegreenyelloworange sky
                                    Veiled with altocumuli
                                                So fresh it looks like it’s been airbrushed
                                                By some masterful, cosmic artist
                                    Who we must believe
                        Possesses some sort of answer
            Some sort of word
To express
That which is
Between Time and Space
Between You and Me.

By Raffi Wartanian
May 2010, New Jersey Turnpike

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