The Launch

Prologue

The message told us to be still,
to wait and watch
like we never had before.
Each day was the last sun
we would see.
Many of us could not carry a story
the way birds do.
Many of us could not carry a sentence
the way the past did.

l

The bird is on the fence now.
I want to know the truth,
how we lost our ability to speak.
I wait and watch.

ll

I have listened.
Now I can fly.
Each flight begins with a jump.
This was helpful.

lll

The way we speak became twisted.
It broke into pieces, unspeakable now.
Only sign and expression remain.
Eyes and encounter.
Dance and embrace.
Handshake, kiss, wink.

lV

The tower rose like the beanstalk,
disappearing into the clouds.
Somewhere above,
a nest in a tree.

Epilogue

An act of kindness:

How could I tell her the sun
would melt the ice cream?
The shadow changed.
Only the cone was left.
In the shadow she
placed it on her head.
A party hat, a tiny dunce.