Somewhere in the middle

The subway stops
somewhere in the middle
we dismount in the dark
feeling our way along
in a world between worlds
—we were never meant to be here.
But here we dwell, now
in caves of our own design
we light fires, hang blankets,
write on the walls, find water
make this disaster Home,
these strangers Family,
these habits Life—but what if
one day, the lights scream back to life?
What would we do? We cannot go back
but to stay would be a farse.
So we wait like anxious beasts
for the telltale roar and rush,
for the subway carried on its path
leaving us scrambling behind
trying to catch a life
that passed us by.
In time, we think less of this.
We were never meant to be here;
but slowly, we forget it’s so
and shape ourselves to fit
the world between worlds.

September 2021

Deserts

Somewhere on Google maps
in a desert, a pinprick in the sand ocean;
western China, I think—
weird beauty waits for satellites.
If I were there, in person
I’d probably be cold & thirsty
wishing someone had paved a road,
grumbling. But here: aloft, peering down
like some homesick cloud,
I see the pretty desert moguls
kept hidden from mankind, until
they invented cameras, and spacecraft,
internet connections, and late nights
full of nothing to do but find you
sitting still, invisible to those nearest by,
a secret majesty on the Earth.

September 2021