sitting in my car
waiting
they want to
"take another look"
"density"
"shadow"
on the picture
'probably nothing'
meanwhile
i work on the border
between life
and death
i walk people
to the line
over which
they can only go
alone
and i always
wonder
what do they see?
what do they feel?
i see people walking
toward
the big white cross
over the door
welcoming them
to the Place
of Life and Death
of No Denial
some bring flowers
some bring overnight bags
some young
some old
eyes down
in a hurry
flags fly at full mast now
some distance from
the Most Recent Horror
the helicopter
perches on the roof
ready for action
awaiting emergency
a dark spot
on a film
and i am thrust
from observer to participant
reminded
again
that life, if anything
is personal
mortality
the great equalizer
some stranger
will push, mold
cram my breasts
between two
metal plates
as if
they are just flesh
to be screened
and not
the most intimate
source of memory
that forever bonds
my child and i
as if they are not
miraculous
sources of nourishment
and raw need
sacred
an old man
waddles forth
burdened by
aging bones
a pregnant woman
moves forward in the
direction of her belly
equilibrium challenged
birth and death
arthritic joints
and new pliable bones
being formed
in the dark
shadows in pictures
revealing only mystery
contemplation
uncertainty of forever
we are all
Here
