Riveted
It is possible that things will not get better
than they are now, or have been known to be.
It is possible that we are past the middle now.
It is possible that we have crossed the great water
without knowing it, and stand now on the other side.
Yes: I think that we have crossed it. Now
we are being given tickets, and they are not
tickets to the show we had been thinking of,
but to a different show, clearly inferior.
Check again: it is our own name on the envelope.
The tickets are to that other show.
It is possible that we will walk out of the darkened hall
without waiting for the last act: people do.
Some people do. But it is probable
that we will stay seated in our narrow seats
all through the tedious denouement
to the unsurprising end- riveted, as it were;
spellbound by our own imperfect lives
because they are lives,
and because they are ours.
This poem was originally published in A Day’s Grace and appeared again in Good Poems for Hard Times.
Friends, we’re in difficult days.
Heads and hearts are heavy as we experience the unraveling of systems, cities, beliefs. All in this together takes on a deeper meaning with each day.
And so, we turn to poems. The world is full of them, thankfully. In a swift stream you’ve got to find your raft and hang on tight.
Have you a poem you’re holding close?