An Unparsed Moment
Chatter in a crowded restaurant, a concert hall or a theater
before the show starts; hardly a chorus,
a buzz without accents and expressions
we’d hear up close to each
Their all-sound is not dismissive of these
it is their one voice heard unparsed
A poem is many voices become one,
a radical singularity present but rarely noticed
at least at first but it’s where we’re headed
We’re awkward with transitions,
with staying-while-leaving which a Moment always is
We have experience with doubtful ordering context,
think whatever appears needs us
to do something with it, make something else of it
Sometimes all it needs is witness
a wordless timeless gathering
we and it always were
A strange yet welcoming silence envelops us
We’re surprised clueless
We are the Moment
Don Brandis is a retired healthcare worker living quietly near Seattle writing poems. He has a degree in philosophy and a long fascination with Zen. Some of his poems have appeared in Gyroscope Review, Feed the Holy, Amethyst Review, Blue Unicorn and elsewhere. His latest book of poems is Paper Birds (Unsolicited Press 2021).
Amethyst Review 