The Exact Moment

It would be odd 
	but somehow comforting 
	knowing the exact moment 
	when I die 
	yet live on. 
	No, not a resurrection 
	or reincarnation, 
	but rather a destruction 
	of the facades I live behind.
	 
	Do you think what I see 
	in another’s eyes is real? 
	Or In the mirror each morning? 
	Do you believe that what 
	others see of me is the truth? 
	The answers are always “no.” 
	I am made of reference to myself. 
	I keep my true self from myself, 
	not even knowing who I am 
	until I am “in extremis,” 
	when I act without regard or filter, 
	when hard pain 
	or the pain of others 
	or death 
	or birth 
	or joy 
	or deep love 
	or touching God, 
	as did St. Joan inside the fire,
	strips away vestiges of my last defenses. 
	
	I think about this: 
	To have a film, 
	made by some cosmic cinematographer, 
	capturing the instant
	of subtraction of all my masks, 
	to be able to relive the moment 
	they are stripped from me, 
	to see the eyes that see me,
	to see me, 
	to see it happen, 
	to know when it’s done.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2013

Poem

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A  Avatar
August 9, 2013 at 7:34 PM
CONGRATULATIONS JACK :-) ....... SKAT
Jordan Avatar
August 9, 2013 at 9:20 PM
Thanks, SKAT... Jack
A   Avatar
August 8, 2013 at 9:38 PM
Howdy Jack, enjoyed your late night poem. CONGRATULATIONS!!! :-) :-) :-) in Nathan's contest... xox...Linda
Jordan Avatar
August 8, 2013 at 9:52 PM
Thanks, Linda. BTW, I like the R2D2... Jack
D. Avatar
August 8, 2013 at 8:26 PM
awesome win, Nate
Jordan Avatar
August 8, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Thanks for considering my poem. I really appreciate it... Jack
Dietrich Avatar
May 9, 2013 at 2:48 PM
gosh, Jack. I have never felt this way myself. I feel I am know myself so well , the good and the bad. Maybe there is a different meaning I am not getting but I think you are saying that you wish to see yourself as you really are. You might not want to see it. lately I have come to realize other things about myself not very fun to admit!
Jordan Avatar
May 9, 2013 at 3:31 PM
You're right... I might not want to know everything. I am absolutely certain, however, that years of therapy have removed quite a few of my masks, and for the better. I'm not sure where it will go, but I'm willing to give it a try... Jack
Hicks Avatar
May 9, 2013 at 11:21 AM
I appreciate your explanation. Sometimes I take it for literal when it's supposed to be symbolic. In any case it's fine writing.
Jordan Avatar
May 9, 2013 at 1:03 PM
I do the same, and thanks for the compliment... Jack
Hicks Avatar
May 7, 2013 at 11:23 PM
Always making us think! I honestly don't know how I'd react at seeing my exact moment of death. Would I be crazier or basically the same? Who's to say. There's a lot of truth towards the middle of the poem. We write about ourselves, but we are constantly changing... though poets are observant, they don't don't even know the true extent of their REAL selves. Sometimes I would like to get inside your head and see through your eyes... the way you think is very captivating.
Jordan Avatar
May 8, 2013 at 6:21 AM
Well, it's not about real physical death, as I replied to Anne Lise below, but rather a stripping away of our masks, both public and personal. It' the old story, I think: what is obvious to me isn't necessarily so to others. Thanks for reading and commenting though. You are always very thoughtful... Jack
Sibanda Avatar
May 7, 2013 at 12:45 PM
Thought-provoking poem...Enjoyed reading your piece.
Jordan Avatar
May 7, 2013 at 12:47 PM
Thank you. I appreciate the comment... Jack
Andresen Avatar
May 7, 2013 at 10:06 AM
- An interesting poem Jack. - But, no thanks I would not know when my day would come. - (You are so clever with haiku poems, please comment my latest Haiku. - Thanks!) - Have a nice day. - oxox / / Anne-Lise :)
Jordan Avatar
May 7, 2013 at 10:10 AM
It's not really about knowing the exact moment of one's death, real death, but rather about one's inner self being revealed. I'm going to read your haiku immediately... jack
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