Tick-Tock

I’ve been around

for thousands of years,

seen centuries turn

like pages in a book

not worth reading,

I’ve seen The End

come over and over again,

seen stars explode

and solar systems

fold into themselves

---collapsing

through the blanket

of dark matter that is space;

leaving a hole

black and void of light . . .

a hole torn into

the very fabric of creation . . .

a hole leading

into a world of uncreated night

on the other side of,

or behind, our own.

I’ve witnessed the birth

of original ideas,

watched the universe

expand and contract,

sway in cycles, seasons,

and motions heavenly aligned.

I’ve watched Jupiter rise

in the skyline of Mars,

with the sun setting in my east

and the green-blue hue of earth

shining beautiful in the early night.

I’ve seen continents sink and rise,

mountains move, oceans dried

to bottomless basins in one day,

I’ve seen entire species

become extinct---swallowed

in one blinding instant of light,

I’ve seen them die more slowly

one at a time.

I’ve witnessed giants on the earth

and angels integrating themselves

with animals on the plains,

with birds of the air,

with the daughters of men.

I’ve watched the ages pass

and with them generations

cast away like trash discarded

into the waste basket of time.

I’ve been around

for thousands of years.