Goners and the Becoming
there is an afterlife in these high branches
spirit bears
watch as tracks appear and
vanish
men who walk around trees become women
but only when the tree is old enough
to seed other wombs
days forgotten and missed
stack up against barbwire fences
the yet to be born
will bulldoze and
unstack
in Thailand we climbed the 200 stone steps
in the heat of the day
monkeys chattered at us from ghost houses
where incense rose
for those who live only last moments
the polished stone Buddha
smiles
thanking us for the long trek
tells us
in a thousand languages
that we are but one step on a journey
one that will not be recorded
until we are free of the thought
of being
temple monkeys howl in approval
a power stations electrified guts
spills its timebomb seeds
waits for the last fizzle of
the goners and the becoming
lifetimes lay in state
under rusting backhoes
generations glimmer
aluminum eyes buried deep
in the softening soil
we cannot recall what we were or foresee
what we can be
only keep watching
the layers grow
the mounds rise and fall
as a world excavates time with its
little pink paws
Copyright © Eric Ashford | Year Posted 2022
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