Second Thoughts not quite an abecedarian
Take our souls out of limbo, and fly up
Above the trees, the mountain peaks, over
Icy, desolate rock: the panorama of seekers,
Ad astra per aspera, or close enough.
Memories mist like living breath stirring the leaves.
If we had seen, years
Ago, the breadth of our mistakes, could we have
Chosen another road? Followed
Wind or wave turning, followed hearts like doors
Ajar, light shining through. Better to
Eke out small lives laid on
Altars beside apples, regrets like tiny seeds from
Imperiled cores? We wasted time without
Understanding how it was
To be finite, wasted everything we’ve been given.
Open the map of shadows, marking human actions and
Equations. What else is in our hands now?
True, life finds a way in sheer exuberance,
Uses itself up from star-flare to merest spark.
It will continue beyond us, a thought both terror and comfort.
But as consequences caught our heels, we stood like statues,
Averted our gazes. We lived within and without
Awe, turned miracle to money making, monkeys in a zoo,
Extracted profit from poetry, in the process
Dyeing our souls in shades of blue, turning
Azure to indigo, darker and darker, so the blood won’t show.
Christine Fojas is a Filipino-Canadian hailing from Las Piñas City and currently living in Metro Vancouver. She has a BA in Comparative Literature from University of the Philippines and works as a library technician at Douglas College. A list of her publications can be found at her website. She is also on Twitter as @chrisfojas. She is a regular contributor for Marias at Sampaguitas.
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