It May Be Time Again (a poem)

Politics is a duty. Poetry is a need. —Alexandros Panagoulis

“It May Be Time Again” was previously published in the March 2006 issue of Quill & Parchment.

The moon whispers a name that could be mine
or tell me who I am in the dark rain
and ruin of this temple, these dreams that haunt
and follow me to the graveyard of memory
where the markers are too faded to be read.
It may be time again to take the next train,
pack up my dreams, and move on down the line.
It may be time to turn my gaze away
from this gray, yet glimmering landscape
that calls to mind a country church
atop a hill silhouetted against autumnal sky,
framing Skip James in a ragged echo
of staccato guitar and falsetto as darkness comes
with the close of another weary day.
It may be time again to take the next train
bound almost any place that takes me far from here,
somewhere night is bright with stars and mystery,
a grand plaza in some city of the South,
Lima, Buenos Aires, coffee at a sidewalk café.
It may be time to paint my passport blue
and breathe the thin, cold air 
where mountain slopes run green 
with delirium hope.

Keep the faith. Hold the line.
Stand with Ukraine.
yr obdt svt