Languor Afternoons

Languor Afternoons David J Walker I The odd stone was a family heirloom And a friendly oracle Always quietly thinking of the future Collecting visions of the past I stared for hours Before I asked for its wisdom It would simply smile But only for a while Before returning to its mineral leanings II The fouls flying in Single file Sang in scales Alone In solos of discord Searching for A flocks choir to join Two were baritone The rest sang in pitch unknown III The man in the mirror Whom I did not recognize Asked me politely If it’s time to give up Any hope for change Or Had the time past to challenge the effects of age and gravity Shall I be condemned for self-fulfilling vanity IV How much easier it is To live In the past rather than in The future Where I can be the oracle Of all certain things Inescapable I am numb with questions From those in Impending times To come Where I am the Denizen stranger V Languor rain on an autumn afternoon the sun refuses to show face disgraced by good intentions unmet but I am open to an Unannounced extended stay I have yet to curse September rain as It comes When it comes